Requiem of the Crystal Golem
by EmerMarie
Summary: When two sisters named Maria and Merhea escape from pursuers, they somehow found themselves in another world... With new abilities in their use, they must find the seven Chaos Emeralds in order to return home... But do they really want to?
1. Odd Dream Out?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, the series is under the copyright of SEGA. The only characters that belong to me are Maria and Merhea Robotnik, along with Lulubell Toll (who will appear in Chapter 2). This is just fanfiction that I've written in my spare time, this has nothing to do in the actual Sonic plotline of the games. If you do not like having a few Original Characters (is that what OC stands for?) in the fanfic you're about to read, I suggest you clicking that "Back" button on your screen.

The actual adventure will not start until around Chapter 3, so I ask you to please be patient if you like this story.

Note: To prevent confusion, Merhea's name is pronounced as (Mer-Ray-Uh).

Please enjoy.

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**Requiem of the Crystal Golem**

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**The First Crystal: Odd Dream Out?**

In our bedroom, I yawned and stretched myself, for the past hour I was reading somewhat funny to completely hilarious fanfics while listening to music on my iMac computer with my headphones on. I was just reading the usual stupidly funny fanfics about video game characters and whatnot, some were good and some were bad. Oh well, at least most of them were good, now if only they had their stories completed... then they would make awesome stories to read. Some of them were self-inserts, but hey, at least they're still good to read. A sad song then played and it made me remember some memories that I wanted to forget... even though I'm sixteen... I still wanted to forget those memories two years ago...

I remembered the days when my parents were still alive when I was still fourteen; they were all happy and cheerful as my parents. That is... until that fire came about two years ago that burned down our previous home... and it took their lives in the process due to falling debris. Because most of my other relatives couldn't afford another child in their families (despite the fact that they wanted to take me in), I was forced to live temporarily in an orphanage while all the money that my parents (and possibly I) made are being taken due to my parents sudden death taxes (seriously, the government even wants you to **pay** when you're **dead?**). The first few months was like hell, I wasn't given enough food for me to even have a decent meal each day, and the fact that I couldn't play with everyone due to the other kids acting like little two-year-old brats (I'm not saying this offensively). Most of the time when I was in that hellish place, I would do nothing but sit in the corner playing my own few games with my hands and drawings. I still have my Pokemon Diamond and Pearl (yes, I have both) and my two DSes and my Wii and Wii games, but I hid all my Wii related things covered in a sheet under my bed so that way no one will steal them. Like I said earlier, I didn't like being in that orphanage. That is... until I met her...

It was the usual day at the orphanage, I was given little food, but it was enough for me to last for the morning. I was about to fall asleep again, but then I heard some loudly muffled screams and a few curses from a woman. The screaming caught the attention of the other six younger children here too, all seven of us watched as the door opened revealing a woman holding a little girl of five wearing really ragged brown clothes (that is... if they ARE clothes). The young child was crying and struggling to squirm free of the woman's arms. I easily understood why she was scared, that woman is scaring her. I then felt some sort of... connection from that child. My strange instincts then decided to kick in, I walked over to the woman with the other kids watching as I gently snatched the little girl out from the woman's arms. I cooed a little to her as I rubbed her head gently like a mother figure would do to a young child, to my surprise (and possibly the others), she stopped crying. She looked incredibly dirty as dirt was seen in her hair and through her body, as I gently wiped some dirt off her gentle round face, she looked at me with a felling of being lost in the world in her eyes. I didn't say anything to her after that as I held on to her unusually small body, to my surprise, she wrapped her arms around my neck.

We've been considered sisters ever since...

I named her Merhea after a nearly forgotten goddess. The goddess Merhea guides innocent people to happiness; her older twin, Maria, which is my name, was the goddess of determination, and she protects the peace that Merhea has created for the people she guided. After exactly one month after I met her, an old couple came in to adopt a child. I instantly recognized them to be my great aunt and uncle from my mother's side of the family, I instantly jumped for joy as I ran over to them and embraced them. They were surprised to find me here, and I know why. When my home burned down, none of my relatives were informed, so I couldn't go to them at all. Ever since all their children had grown up and lived lives of their own, they've lived alone for years. Since they know I'm here, they decided to take me with them, and I was willing to do so. But then I looked at Merhea with a saddened look on my face; she looked to be on the brink of tears, I felt so sorry for her... I then told my great aunt and uncle that I'll live with them only if they'll take Merhea in too...

They did so without any trouble at all...

I then went back to reality as I looked around my room, all of my DS and Wii items are present; I'm surprised that no one actually found them. Then again, most of the kids there weren't very smart on that matter. I pushed the thought aside, I've already accepted the fact that my loving parents are dead, and that I must move on. I won't have to worry much, though, since that I have Merhea with me, who was sleeping on a bed in the other side of the room. I then looked back at the computer and read random fanfics on this fanfiction site, the one I was reading poked fun out of numerous things in the Sonic world. Some of the things they mention are almost always true, one of them was that crossover game called "Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games" for the Wii and DS. I always wonder though... In the previous games Shadow the Hedgehog was known to unable to swim, but how was he able to swim in the Aquatics events? With Sonic wearing a lifevest I can understand, but not Shadow? I always wondered what the people who actually notices this strange flaw think about this.

As you may have guessed, I'm somewhat of a fan to the Sonic the Hedgehog media. I remember that I introduced to the Sonic games by my babysitter named Amy Lynn (we even laughed a little at the fact that she shares the same name as Amy Rose), at first I didn't understand the series, but after I played both the Sonic Adventure games, I began to understand the storyline. The main reason why I didn't understand them at first was because I was in first grade when I was introduced to Sonic games, which was around... the year 2001 I think...? Oh well, I can barely remember, it doesn't really matter anyway. Even so, I find the series very interesting, mostly because it involves Sonic the Hedgehog's supersonic speed. Sonic himself is pretty interesting is because he says strange but somewhat funny puns, along with his daredevil personality. Despite all that, I'm surprised that he'll be _incredibly lazy_ if he ever gets the chance. Oh well, I'm like that myself.

The only thing that I hate about the Sonic series is not because of the gameplay or the comics and whatnot (I never read the comics anyway), but because of the names I get because of it. For those of you who want to know, my name is _Maria Shadow Robotnik_. I mean, sure, I share the name, as that Sonic character that Shadow the Hedgehog knows, but does that mean I'm related to her or something? Heck no, I'm not related at all. For one thing, she's from a videogame, but I live here in this so-called "real world" of ours. I also wear glasses because I'm nearsighted, and I don't recall the Maria in the games wearing glasses. Another thing is that she's blonde and twelve years old, and I'm a brunette (brown-haired) and I'm also sixteen years old. I mean, come on! I'm older than her by four years, age wise! ...But I was born in 1992 and she made her debut in Sonic Adventure 2 (the Original and Battle) in 2001, so I'm actually older than her by **nine** years... _I think..._

Oh yeah… Despite the fact that I have the same name as the video game character, I barely even look like her at all. I was around five feet and four inches tall; I had long dark red brown hair than reached to the middle of my back. I also don't like wearing dresses; instead, I usually wear shirts that are at least one size too big and sturdy blue jeans. As you can already tell, I'm bit of a tomboy. I mean, it's not like my family had a problem with it… Okay, maybe they did have a problem with that a few times… Merhea wear dresses sometimes, but I make her wear a small pair of shorts as well so that way no one could see her white underwear. Seriously, you should all the perverted people in our school.

Another name I have is "Sonic the Human Hedgehog." Why am I called that? Easy... It's because I'm a fast runner of course! Even during high school, despite my running skills, I never join any racing teams. Reason? Once again, I don't like it. I never get along with those racing members anyway. They're all seniors, and I'm only a junior that's too young to even join an athletics team that's for a college that I'm not even going to! I didn't mind the part of me being called "Sonic," I just hate being called the "Human Hedgehog" because I'm very well aware that I can't run as fast as Sonic. For you see, the human being like me is among the slowest mammals in the list; even a _chicken_ can run faster than us. That's right folks, I even pay attention to class; I'm no straight "A" student, but I have my ups and downs. I may run fast, but not as fast as Sonic. I can also bet you ten bucks in American currency that Sonic even goes to school at all, despite those weird fanfics that involves Sonic and his friends (oddly, sometimes even Shadow and Rouge) in high school or college. Oh well, everyone's got imagination, I guess.

I looked behind me and saw Merhea gently snoozing away in her world of dreams. Hmm... I wonder if she's able to actually meet NiGHTS... That'd be pretty funny if she did, then again, I wouldn't want her to risk her ability to wake up in order to defeat the uh... whoever the villains that NiGHTS opposes... something related to nightmares, that I know. I know that the "Visitors" who come to the world of dreams have personalities that turn into colored orbs called Ideya... I actually thought that was an _illegal drug_ or something when I first heard of it... then again... I've never heard of NiGHTS when I've heard of it, so yeah... Ahaha... Yeah... I have an insane mind...

Bah... What am I thinking? Changing the subject like that? Oh well, I once again pushed the thoughts out of my mind as I looked at Merhea's round, gentle face. Her light brown hair that barely reached her shoulders cloaked part of her head, and her sleeping face hid her bright hawk blue eyes. Everything looked so normal on her... Except a few odd bits on her, one of the odd characteristics that she has is that she has slightly brighter yellow brown hair at the bottom tips of her hair. Her face was unusually pale, almost white... I guess you could say she has albinism in her, but I'm not entirely sure, since she's never had any health problems, we never had to see a doctor. I don't see the doctor much either, since I have no albinism in my genetic system, for my skin was a tad darker, but it was normal skin color for the common white person. My hair was much darker by a few shades than my sister's hair. Well... we're not even related by blood, so I guess that's understandable.

I then looked at the clock on my computer, "Mmm... Midnight..." I said to myself, I stayed up late again, and I need to go to school tomorrow. Well, I don't need much sleep anyway, because of me being somewhat hyperactive like Sonic; I've been able to stay awake for a long time. I closed off the programs, turned off the music, and then at last I turned off the computer. The only source of light in the bedroom was the nightlight near Merhea's bed; yes, she's somewhat afraid of the dark. But hey, she's only six, so I can't blame her. Her nightlight never bothers me, since it's been there since Day One we've lived with my great aunt, I've gotten used to it. I already dressed myself in my pajamas about two hours ago; silently I snuck past Merhea's bed and climbed onto my own bed next to hers. I set the alarm clock at 6:30 in the morning, pulled the covers over myself and went to sleep in my soft, cozy warm bed.

...

...

...W...Why...? Why do I…? Why do I feel so... so cold...?

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. Somehow, subconsciously, I was breathing heavily as I had tried to actually get some oxygen into my system. My body also had the urge to throw up, but I took deeper breaths to ease the pain I was feeling in my body. My head turned as I saw my surroundings... wherever I was, I know I was in a cell, due to the bars I saw on my right. Something made me try to stand up, as I tried to do so, I was coughing up some gunk that somehow formed in my mouth. My body then sat back down against the wall since my body was so fatigued… Why was I making these movements...? I then realized what was going on with me... I was not in control with my body...

Okay, now I was getting confused... Was I possessed or something? Or am I just dreaming? Well, okay, maybe I'm dreaming... but somehow... this all seems so... unnaturally real... This made me shiver a little in fear, but at the same time, I was a little upset. I never let anyone control me at all, whether it's for me to do his or her bidding, or even taking control of my body... I never let anyone possess me without a fight; I then concentrated as much as I could to regain control. To my surprise, I regained control with no trouble at all... it was probably because that the consciousness that was controlling me was so... miserable and weak... As I regained control, I felt my normal health kicking in as the ill symptoms that I felt were ebbing away.

I then quickly put aside the thought, to make sure I have full control over myself; I stood up and tapped my feet against the ground for a few seconds... Okay, good... I have full control... I flexed my limbs a little due to them feeling so... unusually stiff... I then walked over to the bars and noticed that I was in some sort of prison...? I had to find out where I was, for I know that I need to get out of here. I looked out into the distance of the giant room, which kept numerous prison cells; some of them even had suspense animation pods inside some of them. Out at the other side of the giant room from where my cell was, I looked into the distance of the other side and saw what seemed to be… robots? They had a familiar shape, but I couldn't tell from here. I then squinted my eyes, if I could just get a closer look… I then realized that I didn't have my glasses on, I turned around in an attempt to find them, as I did so, I froze on what I found…

My shadow was looking different from what I remember having…

I quickly then looked at my hands, I noticed that they were covered with white gloves with black, red-tongued cuffs with round gold bracelets around my wrists. I then noticed that my arms were covered in thin, slick, dark-colored fur with red markings on it. My legs were the same as my arms, the shoes that I was wearing looked familiar, but I couldn't put my finger into what it was. I looked down and saw that I had a tuft of white fur shaped like an emerald on my chest. After looking at myself, I froze again… No way… There's no way I could be… I then noticed a puddle of water leaking out of a pipe from one of the internal corners of the cell, I quickly ran over to it… and I could've sworn that my face literally turned white due to what I saw before me…

I was staring at no other than Shadow the Hedgehog…

I jumped back in shock, I then realized that the body I'm in right now isn't my body… this was Shadow's body! Just… what the? How did I get inside and possess Shadow the Hedgehog's body?! Okay… Maybe I'm overreacting… I'm just probably dreaming… Yeah, that may be it… But then again… I remember that you can't usually feel pain in your dreams, and those ill symptoms that Shadow had… I felt those too… So I may not be dreaming at all… I looked over myself again and saw that I have wounds over my arms and legs; they weren't large or deep enough, but there were numerous scratches and wounds here and there over my arms... Metallic steps then snapped me out of my frantic thoughts; I looked from outside the cell again and saw what I feared it would be…

One of Eggman's robots…

It looked exactly like those simple Eggman-shaped robots that Sonic or Shadow or… anyone in particular can kill or destroy easily. I remember that they debuted in that game I think is called Sonic Heroes, the Eggbot carried a small blaster gun and one of those thick, infamous shields that it usually takes either Sonic or Shadow to do a tornado attack or something in order for them to lose it. Now that I know what I'm dealing with, I know that whether I'm in a dream or not, I know that this is no kids game. Seconds after I was thinking on what to do, the Eggbot stopped in front of the cell that I… er…-- Shadow was in. It turned its ugly head towards Shadow and indirectly me, I then wondered, what is Shadow doing here anyway? After a split second of thinking I came to a conclusion: Dr. Eggman must've captured Shadow for something… but why?

"So our black friend is awake now, eh?" a voice all too familiar spoke, catching my attention, I slowly turned my head and saw the one person I somehow feared would show up… It was no other than the arch nemesis of Sonic the Hedgehog and friends, Dr. Eggman…

"… Err…" I was getting a little nervous. If I were playing the video game, I would look at the cutscenes in anticipation. But here, in this world, I guess you could say that this was no joke at all… Before I could say anything else, the cell opened as Eggman entered.

"Hmph! Now Shadow!" Eggman then grabbed my… er…-- Shadow's right wrist and pulled me out of the cell, he then led me through a hallway of labs. Luckily I was able to keep my footing, I feigned illness like the way I felt earlier as best as I could. Whatever happened to Shadow, Eggman must've drugged him or something. I then wondered, if Shadow was drugged… how come I couldn't feel it? I once again concluded that I had somehow replaced Shadow in this world for now, I'm still me, only I'm just using Shadow's body like an empty shell of a disguise. Well, I've been wrong before… Let's just hope I am…

"Pick up your pace, you moron!" Eggman yelled into my ears, I then snapped.

Out of my hyperactive instincts, I did a karate chop on Eggman's side, making him release my wrists. I silently fumed as I continued beating him up, but before kicking off the head of the Eggbot earlier.

"YOU CALL ME A MORON?! A WEIRDO?! A CRAZY PERSON?!" Somehow, stupidly, I picked up Eggman and threw him against a nearby wall, it practically left a small dent on it. While Eggman was recovering, I ran away from him as fast a possible with my human speed. I heard a few yelling commands from Eggman, but I couldn't make it out as I was too far away from him to make it out. After a few minutes of navigating, I came across on what seemed to be the exit. I don't know what made me think that it was the exit: Either it was the "EXIT FROM BASE" sign that read over the door, or that it was practically half open that showed a jungle-like forest outside. Well, that didn't matter to me anyway. I wasted no time as I dashed through the exit; fresh, clean air filled my lungs as I ran on through. Getting out of here was the easy part, the only thing I find odd is that there weren't any hidden turrets or anything that could prevent me (or possibly Shadow) from escaping.

I stopped running in order to catch my breath, I looked back and saw a few of Eggman's robots scouting around the area searching for Shadow (or me, your pick). The only thing I remember Eggman doing with Shadow when he was imprisoned... was in order to make androids of Shadow the Hedgehog... Wait! That must be why Shadow was captured in the first place! He probably needs Shadow so that way he can use his body structure as a reference in order to make the androids! Now that I think about it, I'm definitely aware that Shadow does not like those androids one bit. Now that I know what the situation may be, I have to get Shadow out of here for his own sake. If I can just control his body long enough in order for him to get to either the GUN military or Tails' workshop, then I'll know that Shadow will be safe and sound from Eggman... then again... I think Tails' workshop is my best bet, since I don't even know if Shadow is employed to GUN at all, and I don't even know where GUN's base is anyway. I pondered for a few seconds again, I then realized that I don't know where Tail's workshop was either. I silently cursed at SEGA, since they've never fully explained where these locations are. Oh well... I guess I'm on my own on this...

_'Get... out... of my body!'_ a familiar voice cried out inside of my head.

"Urk!" my body tensed, it felt like someone was fighting from inside of me. I then realized who it was, "S... Shadow...?"

_'What do you think you're doing?!'_ Shadow had an angry tone in his voice, _'You're planning to use me for evil deeds again, aren't you, Doctor!'_

I then realized what was wrong, Shadow must've mistaken me for Eggman or something. I quickly tried to think up an excuse for me to use, I then thought up an excellent method. I know I don't like lying to one of my favorite videogame characters, but I have to do it in order to get Shadow to safety.

_'Shadow...' _I thought, _'I... It's only me, a friend...'_

_'...Maria...?'_ Shadow muttered with a tone of disbelief, _'Is that... really you...?'_

_'...My name is Maria...' _I then sighed, _'But this is the first time for me meeting you in person.'_

_'H... How did...?' _Shadow began until I cut him off.

_'Listen Shadow...'_ I said to him in my mind, _'I don't know how I got here myself. All I remember was me waking up in a cell, only for me to find that I somehow took control of you.'_

_'I see,' _Shadow's voice returned to normal,_ 'But why are you helping me?'_

_'Well...' _I paused for dramatic effect, _'First of all, I figured that you were captured by that Eggman freak. Second, I also figured that Eggman needed you for something evil. Whichever works for you, whether you like it or not, I might as well bust you out anyway because I can't stand to see anyone like you suffer.'_

_'... You got me there...' _

_'Now's not the time to chat,' _I reminded Shadow, _'Do you know where we are and where we should go?'_

_'A house belonging to someone named Cream the Rabbit is just over those mountains, but...'_ Shadow then trailed off.

_'Cream's house?'_ I asked, excited, _'Sweet! We can your wounds dressed there! What are we waiting for? Let's go already!' _I then ignored Shadow's protests for me to stop as I ran towards the mountains, I almost tripped a little as I felt the jet skates on Shadow's feet beginning to kick in. You know, I always wondered how in the world could he activate those shoes of his... After the jet skates activated, I was moving at a much faster rate. I then quickly glanced behind me as I saw Eggman's base getting smaller and smaller within seconds. After a few minutes which seemed to be seconds, I already crossed over a few of the many mountains that are there.

_'Which way now, Shadow?'_ I finally asked, finally obeying Shadow's protests.

_'It's over this last mountain here on your left,' _Shadow said as I looked to my left, _'If Cream or her mother Vanilla are home then we should be able to get there.'_

_'Perfect,' _I smirked, forgetting the fact that I'm in a dream, _'Cream's house, here we come!' _I then zoomed as fast as I could with Shadow's speed. The only unfortunate thing was that the mountain was really steep, so it was really difficult for me to navigate across. After what seemed to be a long time, I finally managed to get to the top. I then skated over the downward path of the last mountain, as I did so I saw a tiny house coming into view.

_'That's Cream's house over there,'_ Shadow suddenly said, _'Can you see it?'_

_'Yes, I can,' _I said, stopping one hundred feet away from Cream's house. I couldn't find out why I stopped as I collapsed to the ground and was breathing rather uncontrollably.

_'Maria!_' Shadow cried out with concern with his voice,_ 'Are you okay?!"_

"... I'm fine... Shadow..." this time I spoke out using Shadow's voice, I then took a few deep breaths, "I don't think I'll make it... I'm sorry... You're on your own after this..." I then did something that I didn't think was possible, I coughed up blood...

_'Ah!' _Shadow gasp a little in concern, I wonder... Why is Shadow like this? He wasn't like that in the games unless... he actually thinks that I'm the Maria Robotnik he knows and doesn't believe the fact that I'm actually not her. He really must've loved Maria Robotnik, I can see why he was depressed when he silently mourned for her death under the hands of GUN... Heh heh... Talk about irony. The organization that took everything away from Shadow was the same organization that allows him to live, how ironic...

"SHADOW?!" I then heard a familiar voice, I turned my head and saw a blue blur... Wait... Blue blur? How uh... cliche for me to say that... I then felt a pair of hands touch my head turned it in order for him to see my face, I was staring at no other (I've been using that a lot, huh?) than Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Heh..." I smirked at Sonic, which made him blink in surprise. I was about to lift my hand in an attempt to create a thumbs up, but it fell limp quickly.

_**'MARIA!'**_ was the last thing I heard before everything went black.

...

**(End of the First Crystal)**

...

**Author's Note:** If you want to know why I made it in first person, I did to add uniqueness into the story. The POV (Point of View) will sometime change as the story progresses, however, only Maria S. Robotnik's POV will be in first person. Everyone else will be shown in third person. Also, instead of just "Chapter (insert number here)" like most people would use, I decided to use "The (insert number here) Crystal" just to add more uniqueness. I'm probably not the only person who thought of this, I only use Crystals instead because of the title I used in this fanfic.

**References:** In _"Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games,"_ Sonic is the only character in the game who wears a lifevest (or a lifejacket), because of his inability to swim. In the previous games, Shadow is known to be unable to swim as well. When I saw a gameplay video with Shadow swimming in the Olympic Games, I was really confused. I mean, seriously, since when did Shadow learn how to swim? I never understood that...

The part when Maria (when she was in Shadow's body) practically beats up Eggman in a comical way is a parody on how Edward Elric from _"Fullmetal Alchemist"_ (a manga by Hiromu Arakawa) acts whenever someone calls him short (whether it's intentional or not). Maria hates being called names such as "moron," "weirdo," and the like. Though Maria does admit to herself that she tends to act crazy, she doesn't like it whenever someone calls her those names in an insulting manner (or whenever she thinks it's an insult).

When Maria mentioned NiGHTS and thought that Ideya was an illegal drug when she first heard of it, that part was based off of an actual experience that I had. For you see, I first heard of Ideya from NiGHTS from a flash animation called "Attack of the Evil TV" from both Newgrounds and DeviantArt (you may have heard of this as well), and from the way NiGHTS acted in order to get this "Ideya," it sounded like an illegal drug or something in my view at first. If I got anything wrong about NiGHTS there, sorry, I've never played the two games starring NiGHTS, I've only watched gameplay and cutscene videos on YouTube about it. And no, I really don't know what the villains in those two NiGHTS games are called, all I know is that NiGHTS and its sibling Reala are called Nightmaren. Despite NiGHTS's feminine voice, its been officially described as genderless from SEGA, so I'm not going to call NiGHTS a female. From what I recall, Reala was also described as genderless, therefore I will also call Reala an "it," not a "he," despite its masculine voice.

The way Shadow acted here was like the way he acted when Maria Robotnik was still alive in the memory cutscene in SA2:B. From what I remember in the games, Shadow the Hedgehog was kindhearted and was willing to do anything for Maria Robotnik. Even though Maria told Shadow that she's not the Maria Robotnik that Shadow knows, she thinks that Shadow ignored her explanation and thought that she was Maria Robotnik, which is why Shadow seem out of character. To prevent confusion between the two Maria Robotniks, the main character Maria S. Robotnik will have the "S" initial (which stands for Shadow) in her name, she will also simply be called Maria here. The Maria Robotnik that Shadow knows does not have a middle initial, she will also be called "the Maria that Shadow knows' by Maria and a few others. Also, Maria Robotnik is deceased (which should be obvious to you), so she won't have any much of a speaking role. So, unless stated, only Maria S. Robotnik will be the one speaking out of the two.

If you have any suggestions, I might consider it. Keep in mind though, if you do have a suggestion, keep the content at PG-13 at most (I will not tolerate anything like cursing and whatnot). Also, the word "cliche" has that little accent mark on top of the "e," like Pokemon. However, I do not know how to add that accent mark, unfortunately.

If you like it, please leave me your opinion in your review.


	2. Journey to the Sweet Lane

Huh... no reviews yet... Oh well, I'm still new here so uh... yeah. Go easy on me, this is my first Sonic fanfiction that I've ever written, but... it's good so far, isn't it? Here you go, the 2nd Crystal is now reality!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or anyone in particular related to the series, they belong rightfully to SEGA. The only characters that belong to me are Maria S. Robotnik, Merhea G. Robotnik, and Lulubell Toll.

I hope you enjoy.

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**The Second Crystal: Journey to the Sweet Lane**

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...

"Hey!... Hey!... Big Sis!... Big Sis?... Hey!... Wake up!... Wake up, sleepyhead!"

"Unnnhhh... Eh... Wha...?" I groaned a little as I came to, I opened my eyes and saw no other than my little sister Merhea.

"Good morning, Big Sis!" Merhea smiled at me in her quietly cheery voice.

"Unnnhhh... Morning, Merhea..." I looked at the clock, "What time is it...? **_AUGH!!_**" I was startled awake as my alarm clock went off, signaling that it was 6:30 in the morning. Man, Merhea does that a lot, she just _loves_ to wake me up at least _one_ minute before the alarm. I never found out how Merhea could get up so early without the help of an alarm clock. Oh well, at least she's taking advantage of it, probably due to her somewhat boundless energy she has in that little body of hers. I turned off the alarm as I yawned and stretched myself, I moved out of the bed as Merhea stepped out of my way. I looked out of the window and saw newly fallen snow in the front yard, I guess that explains why I felt so cold last night. Um... I can't really remember what I was dreaming about though...

"When breakfast, Big Sis?" Merhea asked me as I snapped back to reality. Just so you know, Merhea rarely calls me by my name, she only calls me "Big Sis" for some weird reason that's beyond me, but... I never really cared about it, I guess she's just trying to acknowledge the fact that we're officially sisters, whether we're related by blood or not. Also, whenever she wakes me up, she always asks when I'll make breakfast, since she cannot cook very well yet. I can't really blame her for not _knowing_ how to cook, I mean, I think she's too young anyway.

"I'll make it as soon as I get dressed," I said as I took off my pajamas as I put on my average clothes, I then saw Merhea already running downstairs. I didn't say anything else as I finished dressing myself, I admit that I don't look like the usual girly-girl person, due to being the tomboy that I am, but I think I look good enough for school. I wore a large black cotton T-Shirt which at least one size too big for me, but hey, at least it fits me well, for I prefer hiding my body figure. I also wore sturdy dark blue jeans which fitted me loosely around my legs, but fitted perfectly around my waist. On my feet were white ankle-high cotton socks which were covered by my black sturdy shoes; although it's a little embarrassing to admit, these are actually _Men's Shoes_. Sure, I would get women wide shoes, but none of them fit correctly. Hey, I wear a Size 8 1/2 in Men's Shoes, so don't blame me for having big feet. On my right wrist was my trusty old-fashioned analog watch, the main reason why I wear it on my wrist is because I'm left handed, which makes it hard for me to draw or write in that matter.

I then brushed my long thick red brown hair in order to make it look neat, I don't know why, but somehow it always gets into a mess within a few hours. Oh well, I really don't mind; I mean, I was born with natural curly hair. I finished brushing my hair within a minute, I then left the room as I put my glasses with a thin silver-golden frame on. I was now officially ready for school, but breakfast then same to mind. Because I need to eat a good breakfast, otherwise I won't have enough energy to run away from trouble. You see, I tend to get into trouble with other kids in the high school I go to. The main reason why is because of what I mentioned earlier: the fact that I refused to join any athletic teams for the colleges I'm not even going to. I'm actually glad that I didn't join any of them, otherwise I wouldn't even be able to spend time with Merhea.

I didn't hear any motion going on downstairs... Huh, I guess our great aunt and uncle left for work already. Within seconds I arrived in the kitchen as I saw Merhea sitting on one of those counter high chairs, waiting patiently for me to cook breakfast for the both of us. I then scratched Merhea's head a little as I opened the refrigerator, I looked over the possibilities of what would make a good meal.

"Hey, Merhea," I simply asked as I looked over the contents again, "are bacon and eggs okay? Or do you prefer pancakes?"

"Can you do both?" Merhea asked.

"Hungry little one, aren't ya?" I said as I smirked at her, while Merhea only giggled and grinned in response, "All right," my smile turned back to normal, "I'll do both," I grabbed four eggs and a few pieces of frozen bacon before closing the fridge, I then set them aside as I then took out a box of pancake mix. Within a few minutes I was done cooking, as I had made four pancakes, eight slices of bacon, and four eggs scrambled. I then took out a carton of orange juice and poured a cup for Merhea, as I poured a cup of icy water for me, mostly because I don't like milk or orange juice.

"Here we go," I said as I gave Merhea her share.

"Thanks, Big Sis!" Merhea squeaked in delight as she quickly ate her share.

As I was eating my share of breakfast, I picked up a TV remote that my great uncle always leaves in the kitchen, and turned on the TV in the living room which was a few feet away from us. I switched to the news in order to see if there were any delays and whatnot in the school both Merhea and I go to. You see, the high school I go to, also teaches Kindergardeners for some weird reason... it's most likely that the Elementary School ran out of room for Kindergardeners or something... Well, not that it bothers me anyway, because of that, Merhea is then able to hang out with me and our best friend Lulubell Toll whenever we get a lunch break. The local news then came up, saying that a somewhat massive snowstorm came across the state we live in. The news then listed the schools that were delayed, our school was among the list of the twenty-seven schools that will have a three-hour delay. Huh... because of that delay, we will only get four hours of school for today!

"What's up, Big Sis?" Merhea asked as she ate her last bit of pancakes and looked at the news with me, "Is something up?"

"Yeah, apparently so," I told her, "Apparently, due to that snowstorm last night, school's been delayed. In other words, we won't be there in school until 11:30 in the morning."

"That's a long time," Merhea commented, "But if we're delayed... What will we do to pass the time?"

"Since we usually go out to random places in the city, we could make some extra food to take with us," I suggested, "That way we won't have spend much money on fast food or something..." I then trailed off, "... Or did you want to play a game on the Wii?"

"I want to make more food," Merhea said, "I think I need to learn how to cook things anyway."

"If you say so," I smirked.

I got off the chair as I took the dishes that Merhea and I used, as I washed them I listened to the news on the TV in case anything else was of interest. Merhea knew better than to suddenly change the channel as I was listening to it, because she knew that whenever the news is on, it might provide us some vital information. The main reason why I listen to the news for information is because of the criminal activity increasing in the state we're living in, recently a few criminals around the state can cause threats a gunpoint. I know how to use a gun myself, but I prefer fighting with my hands and feet because that's where I hold my true power in my opinion.

"Big Sis," Merhea said nervously as she pointed at the TV, "Who are those three men?" I put away the dishes as I looked at the TV screen, on the news were three strong-build men with a few scars on one's face. One of them had black skin and had a white skullcap with black stripes on his head and also had a crooked nose, while another had white skin and was completely bald with a ghastly looking face. The one with scars had tan-brown skin with a large white cheek bandage, it was then confirmed by the news that he was the leader of that trio. From what the news said, those three had escaped from a prison that was located in a town south from here. The news then said that they've been spotted in the city we're in, which made me a little nervous.

You see, I actually know one of those three criminals, the one with black skin tried to take me hostage one time about a year ago when I was alone one time in this city downtown. He threatened me with a knife if I didn't cooperate, I remembered the three police officers pursuing him arriving. They had to stop and back off since they thought the black man took me hostage, however... my crazy instincts just **_had_** to kick in... You see it was like this...

_...My evil flashback is coming in my mind..._

_I had my back against the brick wall downtown near a jewelry shop, the black man had his knife pointed at me by a few feet away. I saw the three officers giving me a slightly worried look, but they looked to be concentrating on the suspect (which is the black man). When I saw that the suspect had his concentration on the three officers, I was slowly moving away from the tension. Apparently, he saw me trying to get away, since he rammed my body against the brick wall with brute force from his hand._

_"Thinking to run away?" he snarled and smirked, "I don't think so you crazy moron... **PHUGH!**" I slammed my foot right into his face as I grabbed his arms and slammed him against the concrete ground._

**_"You call me a moron?!"_** _I snapped and fumed as I continued kicking the junk out of him, **"You call a weirdo?! A moron?! A crazy person?! What did you call me?!"**_

_"**PHACK!**_ _I didn't say any of that stuff!" he gave out many breaths of pain while I was beating on him as the three officers looked on with weird looks on their faces. After a few minutes of torture, I finally stopped beating him. I then noticed that he had a bloody nose and a fair few blue bruises on his arms... Boy, that was a new record... I think... Also, I was the one who caused his nose to become crooked._

_"That's... _gotta _leave a mark..." I heard one of the officers say._

_"Ya think?!" I said to them in a comical manner, "I admit that I'm crazy, but I don't like it as insults. Yup yup..." I then nodded with my eyes closed._

_"You don't do this... all the time, don't you?" the second officer asked._

_"Nope," I shrugged in a comical manner once again, "Only when I think is necessary."_

_...Um... Okay... uh... end of flashback now...? Please...?_

Yeah... That's how I know that person, not the best way of meeting someone. Why are they criminals? Easy, they rob people at gunpoint, and that's it. The officers arrested him with no trouble due to the crazily comical beatings I put on him, and then he went to jail along with his two fellow goons and I never gave another care. And no, I never lived happily ever after, sorry folks. Thankfully, I didn't get into much trouble with my great aunt and uncle, all they were ever concerned about was my safety. Thankfully they don't know anything about that incident, and neither does Merhea. Well uh... since that I'm safe after all that junk about a year ago, I managed to live to another day with Merhea! No, I'm not saying this in the story manner... Okay, maybe I am, don't take it seriously...

"Is something wrong, Big Sis?" Merhea asked, noticing my slightly worried look.

"Huh?" I looked at her, bringing me back to reality, "Yeah, I'm fine... I think we're going need to be extra careful today. Because I'm getting this really weird feeling that we'll really need to be _really_ careful during this delay."

"Okay..." Merhea said with an uneasy look on her face, "Huh?" we then heard knocking on the front door as I turned off the TV set.

"Shh... Stay quiet," I whispered to her as I sneaked over to the front door, I looked into the peephole and sighed in relief. It was our friend Lulubell Toll who lived next door.

"Hey Maria!" Lulubell greeted as I opened the door, cold freezing air then came in the house.

"Hey, come on in," I said, "I don't want any cold air to get in this house."

"Ahaha!" Lulubell laughed at that comment as she walked in while I closed the door. I'll have to admit, Lulubell is a strange one, not by her personality, but her looks. First of all, she had oddly natural colored blood-red hair that was slightly longer than mine, she wore dark blue snow pants. Under that large white parka she was wearing was her red short-sleeved shirt with a white crescent moon mark on the chest of the shirt, if you look at it from a distance you could mistake it for a wide necklace. On her feet were red army boots that slightly resembled the boots of Knuckles the Echidna, only it didn't have those bumps like that of a LEGO block.

"All right, Knuckle-Girl," I said in a teasing manner, "What brings you here?"

"Well 'Sonic'," Lulubell called me by my nickname, "Since we have that delay, I thought we might spend some extra time. Afterall, we are 'Team Sonic' right?"

I laughed at that, "Yep, you're right!" Usually, whenever the three of us, composed of me, Merhea, and Lulubell, we sometimes call ourselves the "Sonic Team." You see, I have "Sonic" as my nickname since out of the three of us, I run the fastest. In Lulubell's case, she's the strongest, hence, she's called "Knuckles" or "Knuckle-Girl" or "G-Knux" (as in Girl Knuckles). As for Merhea, even though she's no mechanical prodigy, she can keep up with me as I run. Since she's also the youngest out of the three of us, she's sometimes called "Tails." However, in our opinion (as in mine and Lulubell's), we sometimes think she's more of _Cream the Rabbit_ than Tails. But we sometimes call her Tails because it suits the both of us as in Merhea and me. You should see what I'm getting at, Merhea and Tails act like adopted siblings to me and Sonic, respectively. So... I guess she's more like _Tails_ than Cream in that case.

"So Maria," Lulubell said as she sat on the sofa in the living room with Merhea, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Um..." I tried to think of an answer, as I suddenly remembered that dream that I had with me possessing Shadow the Hedgehog's body, "Well, I... guess I have..."

"I slept wonderfully," Lulubell said, "I'm glad I tired myself out with all that yoga and martial arts training."

"I slept fine," Merhea said.

We chatted for about half an hour, school wouldn't start in about two hours, so we were fine. I then suggested that we would start making some extra food to take with us once we go to our school, Lulubell was _excellent_ at cooking things, so I know we're gonna make something _good_. We then decided to make some palm-sized cakes since they cook within less time, as we took out the ingredients, Lulubell and I taught Merhea about some of the basics of cooking things. Within an hour, we managed to make nine palm-sized cakes. We don't put any icing on the cakes very often, mostly because we put them in zip lock baggies, which will become incredibly messy if icing was in there. After that we made our school lunches, which mostly compose of a simple sandwich, a small bag of crackers, a small juice pouch, and a few cookies or any other thing we consider as a "sweet treat." I looked at the clock and saw that we only have an hour and a half left before school starts, we then cleaned up the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher and turned it on. After a few minutes, we then placed the tiny cakes into a small bag with a zip lock as we put both them and our lunches away in our backpacks.

"You planning on going downtown after school?" Lulubell asked as she put away the last cake in her school sling bag.

"Yeah, we might," I said, "Merhea and I might go for a little while. That is... if the road isn't too slippery for me to drive on. Are you planning on coming along or no?"

"Nah, I can't," Lulubell sighed, "I have to visit my grandparents who live up north after school, what with the three day weekend and all..." That's right... I forgot... today was Friday! This was the last day of school for this school year! How could I forget?

"I see," I said as I dressed myself in a few layers to prepare for the cold, which my black parka being the most noticeable, "Well, it's time for us to go, guys. I want to arrive early." I then helped Merhea put on her parka, "By the way, Lulubell," I turned to her, "Do you need a ride to school or can you get there on your own?"

"Well, I just need you to drop me off at the parking lot of the school," she said, "I'll manage."

"All right."

After I helped fully dress Merhea for the winter, I then packed a few other things that I bring with me to while away some time. I packed my white Nintendo DS Lite along with Merhea's blue and black DS Lite in my hip pouch, I also packed in a few DS games as well. I packed in my _Pokemon Diamond_ and Merhea's _Pokemon Pearl_, the _New Super Mario Bros._ game, and finally the _WarioWare: Touched_ game as well. I brought along the charger cords for our two DSes in case we needed them, since Merhea tends to play on her Pokemon Pearl game a lot. I would've bought either _Sonic Rush_ or _Sonic Rush: Adventure_, but I couldn't find them in many stores... Oh well, I'll find those games someday... I then grabbed my backpack that had only my sketchbook along with a few drawing tools and a tiny medical kit inside of it, since we're rarely assigned any homework, I usually carry the things I have right now in my backpack. I then remembered to pack my spare pair of glasses, since sometimes the other students at our school have sometimes tried to scratch or even break my glasses. This could cause me serious problems, because not only that I couldn't see, I would get a migraine-like headache that pains me to no end. Merhea is never assigned homework because she's in Kindergarden right now, so she usually packs the two blue ocarina flutes that Merhea and I play with whenever we think we need some music. She also packed in a tiny trumpet that I usually blow on, along with a notebook that had the melodies that Merhea and I have written in it.

I checked my inventory again and saw that I forgot to put my cell phone in my hip pouch, I rummaged through the kitchen counter and found my cell phone among some other things. I rarely use the cell for purposes such as calling or sending people text messages (I don't even know how to text message anyway), I usually use the phone for its music function. You see, my cell has an MP3 player built into it, so I placed some of my favorite music tracks in there. Some of the tracks are some of the theme songs from both _Sonic Adventures 1 and 2_ and _Shadow the Hedgehog_, and a few others from other video game series, like _Mario_ and _Zelda_ and _Megaman_... well, you get what I mean. You see, I prefer music from the video games because somehow, they seem more... lively... Well, that's my opinion, anyway.

With an hour and fifteen minutes to spare, the three of us then left the house as I locked the front door. I then unlocked the black car on the driveway and climbed into the driver's seat as Lulubell sat in the passenger seat with Merhea in the back seat, I waited for a few minutes as I warmed up the car before I switched to reverse gear. After five minutes of carefully driving across the slippery roads, we arrived into the schoolgrounds. Since we arrived about an hour early, there wasn't any students to be seen walking towards the school building. I turned off the car shortly after I got into a parking spot near the school's main entrance, the three of us then got out of the car as I locked it. I looked around the parking lot and saw that there were about sixteen other cars in the parking lot, with five of them having the same black color as our car. Well... I guess we're safe for now...

"Maria?"

I quickly turned my head towards the voice, only to find that it was only Lulubell's, "Uh... What?"

"Is something wrong?" she asked me as she was gave me a concerned look.

"Um... I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm... Just thinking," I quickly thought up an excuse, "Yeah... I'm just thinking..." I then remembered why Lulubell and Merhea gave me concerned looks, they don't know anything about me knowing one of the criminals that escaped. Since they were seen in this town, if they find me with either Merhea or Lulubell or with both of them... we might get in serious trouble that could even cost us our very lives... I quickly pushed aside the thought as I walked with Merhea and Lulubell on the sidewalk that lead to our school, I quickly glanced around in case of any suspicious activity going on.

I suddenly stopped and looked at the pale gray sky with snow slowly down to Earth... Hmm... Now that I think about it... is it even possible to travel to different dimensions of another universe? It made me think that, somehow... my soul may have spirited away to Sonic's world when I was sleeping last night. I mean, it... could be possible... or am I just getting a little too uh... imaginative? Well, I could've sworn that I felt those ill feelings when I was inside Shadow's body. It's been said that you can't feel pain in your dreams but... is it really possible to really feel even the slightest pain in one's dream? My mind drifted off again as I stared into the gray sky, I felt a few snowflakes melting on my face as soon as they get into contact. It felt bone-chilling, but somehow, it was soothing at the same time.

"Big Sis? Hello?" a red gloved had then hovered over my face.

"Wha...?" I was snapped back into reality yet again, this time Lulubell seemed a little irritated.

"Maria, what's going on with you?" Lulubell said irritably, "This is not like you, you know."

"Um..." I was sure that I felt... some odd feeling going on, "Lulubell, you go on ahead," I waved my hand at her, "I'll catch up. Merhea, you going with her?"

"No, I want to be with you, Big Sis," Merhea said as she clung onto my other arm.

"You sure?" Lulubell seemed skeptical, "What's going on?"

"I just want to be outside for a few minutes," I lied as I bit my tongue under my lips, "I just want to watch the snow fall a little while longer."

"Well... All right..." she gave a somewhat worried look, "I guess I'll see you and Merhea at lunch, huh?"

"Yeah..." I nodded, "See you later..."

I still stood at the very spot were I remained for the past five minutes, with Merhea right beside me. I continued to stare at the falling snow as I was already lost deep into my mind of thoughts. I thought of numerous possibilities, Merhea and I might be able to live in a home of our own once I get out of college. I was thinking about that because I have no love interest, and never did I desire one. Well... I guess I'm still too young to even think about that yet, but then again, does it really hurt to try to envision your future? I then felt a tug on my black parka sleeve, I looked down and saw Merhea with a small light blue ocarina in her hand.

"If it's going to be so... painfully silent here..." she paused for a moment, "Maybe... playing a song will help?"

"Hmm..." I hummed with a small grin on my face as I took the ocarina out of her hands, "You may be right... Maybe... a gentle one will do..."

I then placed the ocarina's mouthpiece into my lips as I started blowing, a soothing melody then came to life as the notes drifted into the wind. I then heard Merhea gently humming in synchronization as I played, the song sounded like... an angel singing with a tinge of sadness... yet happiness in her voice. Speaking of angels... why is it that an angel's wings must be white? Surely an angel's wings that are black... are just as good as ones with white wings... I had these soothing thoughts in my mind as I continued to blow notes into my ocarina. Just as I was reaching the ending of the song...

"Big Sis..." Merhea stopped humming abruptly and tugged onto the right side of my parka, "There are men in black over there..." I instantly stopped playing with the ocarina still in my lips as I turned my eyes to the direction Merhea was facing on my right, when I saw the three men Merhea mentioned, my worst fears were confirmed...

It was the three escaped criminals...

"...Oh... no..." I muttered so quietly that Merhea barely heard it loud and clearly.

"Big Sis..." she tugged my parka again, "What's going on...?"

"Merhea..." I kneeled down to her height as I placed my hands on her shoulders, "We need to get out of here, we can't go to school today..."

"Why?" I could tell Merhea was getting scared.

"Those men are the escaped criminals," I said, "I was the reason why they were sent to prison, if they find out that I'm the same person the one with black skin encountered one year ago... it might get messy..."

"What will they do...?"

"...It's better for you if you don't know..." I muttered, making Merhea's eyes widen a little in fear.

"W... Why...?" I put the ocarina away in my right pocket on my parka as I buttoned it to keep the ocarina from slipping out.

"Come on, Merhea..." I gently took her hand as I lead the both of us away from the school grounds, I slowly glanced behind us and saw the three men still following us. I silently cursed under my breath, those men have already recognized me... I looked down at Merhea as I saw her nervously looking around at random directions, I gently squeezed her hand in an attempt to comfort her. She then looked up at me with an unsure look deep inside her large hawk blue eyes, I then sighed, she was just like that when I looked at her deep in the eyes for the very first time I met her in that cursed orphanage.

"...Big Sis..."

"Don't worry..." I said in a soothing voice with a soothing smile, "Everything's going to be alright... I promise..." I then noticed that we walked about a mile away from school as I saw it from a distance, the area we were in now had a few abandoned buildings next to the streets. Now I know where we are, we were in the place that's commonly called "The Abandoned Dawn" here. The Abandoned Dawn got its name due to it being abandoned, and the fact that it is around on of the first areas to get a view of the worlds early time of dawn. However, no one hardly comes over here now, since there's hardly nothing of value to be found here. However, Merhea and I come here quite often, just a few blocks down was an abandoned candy store called "The Sweet Lane" because it was in the corner of a turn in the long lane down.

_"KA-CHIK!"_ I gasped when I heard that sound from a distance, I quickly turned and saw that the three mens had guns with them, they seem to be jogging a little to get to us. They're on the intention to kill us, namely me, out of revenge.

"Merhea..." I whispered as she turned her attention to me, "When I say so, run and keep up with as fast as you can. We need to get to the Sweet Lane in order for us to be safe... Do I make myself clear?"

"Y... Yes..." she nodded nervously in response.

"Good," I whispered, "Try and keep up..." the both of us then fastened up our pace a little as I tried to keep my cool. We were two blocks away from the Sweet Lane until a gunshot broke out with a loud **_"BANG!"_**... and I felt a ripping pain on the left side of my waist. Merhea barely screamed out a gasp as I felt a warm flow of liquid coming out of my parka, I looked down and saw blood...

_"W... Wha...? **Wha...?**_ _A... **Ah...!**"_ Merhea could barely keep her sanity, since she couldn't stand the sight of blood...

"Merhea!" I said, "Run!" I grabbed her hand with my right hand as I gripped onto my wound with my other. I know that no matter what, we must get to the Sweet Lane in order for Merhea to be safe, I don't care what happens to me. I saw a few drops of blood leaving a small trail of where I was running, I then looked behind me and saw the three men aiming their guns at us as they were running. They fired a few shots, but luckily they missed us by inches every time. They were gaining on us... out of pure instinct, I picked up Merhea and carried her. Despite the extra weight, somehow I was able to run a lot faster despite the wound on my left side. I quickly glanced behind me and saw the men becoming farther away from me little by little, I guess I'm living up to my nickname as _Sonic_ right now...

Within seconds I reached the turn of where the Sweet Lane was located, I turned to the alleyway behind it as I took out a ring of keys in my hip pouch. I put down Merhea as I removed a loose brick and placed a cylinder shaped key inside of the hole, making it reveal a tiny door. When I heard the footsteps getting closer and closer, I quickly pushed Merhea and both of our backpacks inside of the secret entrance to the Sweet Lane. I then covered up my wound with my sleeve and put the brick back in its original place as I slid in myself, closing the secret door in the process. I looked at the floor, thankfully I didn't leave a trail of blood as I slid.

"Where'd they go?!"

"It's impossible! They couldn't have just... disappeared!"

"They should be hiding somewhere near here. Find her, because I want to kill her personally."

"And what about the younger kid?"

"We'll use her as our own... little toy..." that person then gave out a malicious laugh.

I then opened a tiny peephole located on the secret door, I then saw the three escaped criminals looking in broken crates and garbage cans in an attempt of searching for us. Thankfully, there wasn't any snow in the alley, so none of our footprints could be found on the concrete alleyway. I did see the one with black skin examining a pool of my blood outside, but thankfully it didn't leave any trail of where I went. I was breathing a little heavily in an attempt to prevent myself from screaming in pain, I put my right hand over my mouth to quiet down my breathing. I then saw Merhea whimpering a little as she looked at my gunshot wound, I looked at it and saw that some of my blood was slowly seeping into the wooden floor below us. I then took off my parka and the few layers that I wore around myself, which made my body uncomfortably cold. I then ripped up my thickest layer, which was my white thick sweatshirt, and wrapped it around my waist in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Thankfully, it worked, but I have to be careful... Otherwise my wound will open up, letting out even _more_ blood.

The Sweet Lane used to be a popular candy store before the owner passed on. He was called "Santa Sweet" due to his uncanny resemblance of someone called Santa Claus from the holiday called Christmas. I'm just glad that I wasn't killed in front of Merhea, otherwise she would be traumatized for life. I'm even more gland that Santa Sweet created this secret entrance for both me and Merhea to use, because this place just saved our own lives. The main reason why Santa Sweet made this secret entrance for us, was in order for us to escape pursuers who try to beat us up for whatever reason that's beyond us. Apparently he took pity on us and decided to give us a helping hand, he then secretly remodeled his shop and made the secret entrance for us to use. Santa Sweet, Merhea and I are the only ones who know about the secret entrance, not even Lulubell or the local authorities. Ever since he passed on, the Sweet Lane was closed down. The only entrance in the candy was the main one, but it was locked up with chains and a padlock from the inside. As for the windows, they were cracked as long, thick wooden boards and a few rusted steel plates were bolted against the window, letting only a limited amount of light to illuminate the gentle darkness inside. Now, the only way to get inside the Sweet Lane is through the secret entrance that Merhea and I just took to escape from our pursuers.

"How can this be?!" one of the men yelled out, "They couldn't have disappeared!"

"They probably went over that fence," another one said, "They couldn't have gone too far. We'll find them eventually."

"What are you waiting for? Let's go already!" the last criminal said as the sound of running footsteps were fading away.

Merhea and I waited for a few minutes without making a sound, other than our breathing, in which case I was was breathing a little heavily. _Oh man_... I'm losing too much blood... I _know_ I need to get to a hospital as soon as possible, but with the hospital being so far away... There's almost no hope for me to even make it in time...

"Merhea..." I breathed out.

"Yeah?" Merhea responded in concern.

"You must be... really tired... after all that... running..." I continued breathing in fatigue, "I want you... I want you to go to sleep for a while..."

"Why?" Merhea had her grip on my hand with the intention of not letting go.

"You need to rest, Merhea..." I let out a long breath, "Just go to sleep... once we wake up... everything we've suffered... will all be over once we wake up..."

"You mean that we might go to a better place?" Merhea asked, not knowing about the basics of someone dying.

"Yes... We will..." I said with a smile on my face, "Just stay strong... and don't cry if I ever get separated from you... promise me that..." I then felt my vision becoming blurry.

"I... I promise..." Merhea held my hand to an even tighter grip, she then leaned against my right side as she looked at a strange shining object on the ground, "Big Sis? What's that...? ..._Wha?!_" A bright white light then suddenly came from the object, I couldn't quite tell what it was, because of my vision already being so blurry. I heard Merhea yelling about something, but to my dismay, her voice had faded as I suddenly whited out as my body went limp. Is this really... what death feels like...? Because... it didn't feel like death... did it...?

...

I opened my eyes as I found myself in a world of blackness, I then discovered that I wasn't leaning on anything in particular, since I was lying on my back. I then slowly sat up, expecting excruciating pain to well up in my side. Oddly... I didn't feel anything... I _couldn't_ feel anything... not even _pain_... I slowly stood up, I still didn't feel any pain from my wound. I then looked around in an attempt to find out where I am, and Merhea was nowhere in sight. Frantically, I searched and looked around this _dark void_ I'm in... in an attempt to find her.

"Merhea?" no response... "_Merhea?! **MERHEA!!**_" ...still... no response... "_Merhea, can you hear me?! **HEY!!**_"

I then collapsed to my knees... is Merhea... _really gone...?_ My body trembled in disbelief... No... she couldn't be gone... she _can't be gone_... **_she CAN'T be!_**

...What...?

I looked up and saw a large white glowing ball of light far away in a distance... at least... I thought it was... only to find that the light was actually... _growing..._ I stood up and ran toward it, ignoring the blood that's somehow leaking out of my makeshift bandage by a tiny amount. The light seemed _so... captivating..._ I reached out my left blood-stained hand in an attempt to touch the light. As I almost did so, the light flickered into a brighter color, making me withdraw my hand. Then two orbs of light suddenly emerged from the white light; the one on my left was a light blue hue with the one on my right being a light red hue. I took a few steps backwards as a small tinge of fear crawled into my spine, as I took my third step... the red and blue lights zoomed over to me as the red and blue hues of light placed themselves inside my very body. I felt... a _soothing_ power flowing throughout my body, it made me feel... _more agile and stronger_ despite my wound, I closed my eyes in contentment. I gave out a peaceful sigh as I opened them again, somehow I felt... revitalized... I then slowly questioned about what was happening to me just now, am I really... just dreaming for real...? My questioning was then cut short, as suddenly a cyan light blue light that seemed shaped like an arrow shoot down towards me at a rapid speed... and stabbed me in the heart...

"**_GHACK!!_**" I let out a cough of pain as specs of blood flew out of my mouth. I checked my chest and saw... no signs of me being stabbed at all...

"W... _Wha... **What...?**_" I quickly padded my back. However, I didn't feel any blood flowing out of my back, so I _guess_ I'm okay... But what was that... stabbing pain in my chest? I then heard and felt something _tinkling_ on my left arm, I looked down at my hand and stared at it in horror... my arm was growing larger every few seconds as it was turning into _crystal!_ I also felt a tingling feeling over the right side of my face, I felt that spot and realized that the part over the right side of my face... from the top of my forehead... over my right eye... to the bottom of my right cheek... it was turning into crystal too! I screamed out in pain as I felt the two parts of my body crystallizing... I then collapsed as I ran out of breath... and this time...

_**...I blacked out...**_

...

...

...

**(End of the Second Crystal)**

...

**Authoress' Note:** Cliffhangers can be a little fun, can they? Well... I know that the things Maria says can go a little off topic but... at least you get to know Maria and Merhea's daily point of their lives. I know that I may not be good at language arts (or English class), but I think my writing skills are satisfactory, don't you think? I worked really hard on this one, trying to emphasize the scene when Maria got shot by the three criminals was harder to think up that it seems. In case you may have wondered, the main reason why Maria never fully explains the location of the city or state that she and Merhea are in, is because it doesn't need to be known. Mostly because the name of the sisters' homeland aren't even worth talking about in the story.

**References:** The ocarinas that both Maria and Merhea possess are not like the ocarina(s) that Link from the Zelda games had (or has). An ocarina is an actual instrument, and I actually have one myself. I bought a blue plastic ocarina from a small music store for four dollars in American Currency (the US Dollar), when I was younger, I would've played those songs in LoZ: Ocarina of Time that would make you warp to other places. Even though I can't warp, I can still pretend... so uh... don't bug me on that...

Lulubell Toll's name is a pun based on the poem titled _"For Whom the Bell Tolls._" The "Lulu" part was added because somehow, in my ears, people named "Lulu" have an interest in the color red. She was originally going to be named _"Garde"_ (French for Guard, her full name was originally _"Garde Bell Toll,"_ with Bell as her middle name), but it seemed too masculine. After some brainstorming, the name _"Lulubell"_ came to mind; hence, _"Lulubell Toll"_. And no, she is **_not_** to be confused with the character called "Lulu Bell" in the manga called _"D.Gray-Man"_ by Katsura Hoshino. I don't even know what Lulu Bell from _D.Gray-Man_ even looks like, because I've only heard of her name and I never saw her picture (though I've heard she's a blonde, my Lulubell is a redhead). She is based off of the character Knuckles the Echidna, as you can already tell. Although she's hates to admit it, Knuckles is her favorite Sonic character.

The name "The Abandoned Dawn" originated from the fact that places are often abandoned by dawn. Also, whenever I go to an abandoned street that's in the state up North of the one I'm living in, I sometimes witness simply gorgeous views of dawn's sunrise. Even abandoned areas have memories hidden within them, they can also make perfect hideouts (though I only hid in an abandoned building once in a game of hide-and-seek). Hence, "The Abandoned Dawn." The Sweet Lane is just simply a joke based on the phrase or something called "The Candy Lane." It may not seem creative, but I think it suits just fine, don't you?

For those who don't know, "Cyan" is a color that similar to a light blue, it's around the same color as the afternoon sky, I think. Well, if you're a talented artist, you should already know about what the color cyan looks like; if not, try looking it up.

When Maria told her sister to go to sleep, Maria didn't want Merhea to witness her dying. You see, when you're asleep, you wouldn't notice anything going on around you, unless it's a very bright light or a loud noise. Also, it is said that if you're in the world of nothingness (a place similar where the dead may go, but this is only unconsciousness), you wouldn't feel anything physically, only emotionally.

And now, while you're reading the 2nd Crystal, you will then know what's happening next once I upload the 3rd Crystal!

And no, I don't expect any reviews, I only posted Requiem of the Crystal Golem (RotCG for short) here because I wanted to. By the way, did you know that a "Requiem" is actually a saddened song? Maria plays sad but soothing songs with the instruments she plays (she'll use any instrument she finds), which is the reason why "Requiem" is added into the title. You'll find out what the Crystal Golem is eventually...


	3. Not the Best Way of Meeting Someone

No reviews once again, eh? Oh well, I'm having too much fun to even care about that. Though at least _one_ review would be nice... I wonder... do people even read this?

**Disclaimer (once again):** I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, the series belong to SEGA. I only own Maria and Merhea.

Enjoy the Third Crystal!

...

...

**The Third Crystal: Not the Best Way of Meeting Someone**

...

The afternoon sun shined as it revealed lush green trees of many kinds flourishing about around the workshop located on a hill. The workshop wasn't very big, but the runway hidden between two rows of palm trees make up for it. All was quiet outside the entrance of the workshop, except for someone gently snoozing on a branch of a large old oak tree. The certain someone leaning against the trunk of the tree had blue colored fur, along with a peach-colored muzzle, arms, and stomach. White gloves covered his hands while red shoes with a white stripe and a gold buckle on each covering his feet. Six long quills were drooping from the back of his head while two smaller quills were on his back, along with a black nose on his muzzle. He was still snoozing away until he felt something knock on the tree's trunk from the bottom, walking him instantly as he almost lost his balance.

_"_**_WHOA!_**_"_ he grabbed onto the branch he was leaning on as he looked down, he silently muttered to himself about something about being alone as he saw a familiar pink hedgehog wearing a red dress and go-go boots with a white stripe on each. He also saw her carrying her trademark red and yellow Piko Piko Hammer, and she seemed angry at him.

"Sonic, get down here right now!" she said as she hit the tree again with her hammer.

"Amy, knock it off!" Sonic said as he maintained his grip, "You're gonna kill the tree if you keep that up!" he then pulled himself up as he looked down at Amy again, "And if you're here to make me go out with you to dinner or something, I'm not interested right now. Besides, why can't you ever let me get some shut eye here? Can't you see that I was taking a nap here?"

"Yes, I did," Amy said as she leaned against her hammer, "And this time you're not getting away from marrying me!" she then hit the tree again.

"_Marriage?!_ No way!" Sonic kept his balance as he silently cursed at himself. Man, that pink hedgehog never gives him a break. Amy's been trying to get Sonic to marry her for who knows how long; besides, Sonic himself is only fifteen years old, almost reaching sixteen, and she's only twelve years old! Other than the fact that Sonic has no interest of marrying anyone in particular, he also thinks that Amy is talking about marriage _way_ too early for anyone's comfort. Sure, he doesn't mind Amy's presense, but he really hates it whenever she's like this. He was about to say something until a fox with white and yellow-orange fur with two yellow-orange white tipped tails suddenly came out of the workshop while holding some kind of radar along with a newspaper.

"Hey, Sonic!" the two-tailed fox said in anticipation, "Take a look at this!"

"At what?" Sonic said as he jumped off the tree and managed Amy to avoid hugging him, making her crash into the tree, "All right, Tails. What'd you find this time?"

"Well, first of all," the fox named Tails said, "The radar I just made detected an odd energy presence. Not only that, it caught the attention of the media here. Look at this newspaper and you'll see what I mean."

Sonic took the paper and quickly read it with his emerald green eyes. Apparently, there was a presence of what seemed to be an energy spike detected somewhere near the middle of Station Square, with the exact location unknown according to the paper since it disappeared as soon as it appeared. Another energy spike was detected somewhere in the middle of the Mystic Ruins as well, only to find that some of GUN's robots have done a thorough scout around it and found nothing since it also disappeared so quickly. It also said that GUN is currently investigating the energy spike detected in Station Square, despite the fact that it already disappeared.

"Looks like a Chaos Emerald if you ask me," Sonic said as Amy read the paper behind him.

"But what if it's not a Chaos Emerald doing this?" Amy asked, forgetting about her attempt of marrying Sonic (yet again).

"Well, I don't know, but..." Sonic pondered for a moment, "I say we check it out!" he said with a smirk.

"But Sonic," Tails said, "The Mystic Ruins has already been cleared, and I don't think we'll find anything in Station Square."

"Well, we won't know until we see it ourselves," Sonic said with his smirk still on his face, "I'm gonna check it out, so I'm taking this with me," he said before he ran off to Station Square, taking the newspaper with him.

"Wha...? Hey!" Amy now became furious now that she remembered that she was trying to catch Sonic again, "Sonic!"

...

White-gray buildings and skyscrapers towered the buildings of Station Square as a red echidna moving around, as if he was searching for something. He had red colored fur, along with a white crescent birthmark on his chest, while long red dreadlocks gently hung from the back of his head. He wore gloves shaped like mittens with two spikes on each of them, he had a peach colored muzzle with a slightly pointed black nose on his muzzle. His boots were red with a yellow stripe running across each of them, green rings connected to his boots surrounded his ankles, while a gray rectangle with six bumps like that of a LEGO block were on each of his boots. His name was Knuckles the Echidna, and he is the Guardian of the Master Emerald located on Angel Island.

Knuckles looked around again, that energy spike he felt and sensed gave him a somewhat uneasy feeling. He had to know what the source was, otherwise it might threaten the Master Emerald. He is aware that he may be taking the duty of Master Emerald too seriously, but you can't be too careful. He then looked up in the sky in order to see if there was any clues up there... nope, not a one... He then went back to reality as he ran over to another part of the city, nothing seemed abnormal... unless you count the giant robot that appeared out of nowhere, causing the innocent people and bystanders running for their lives.

"Huh? What the...?" Knuckles muttered to himself as he looked at the robot, it looked like a combination of a giant rhinoceros and a spider (a black widow to be exact). The robot was in a dark gray, almost black color, the giant horn on its head was a gleaming white with a tinge of silver in it. Eight long thin legs jutted out from its long, large body as two larger, muscular-shaped legs were at the rear. Floating next to the giant robot was a small hovercraft carrying someone that's all too familiar to the red echidna. The arch nemesis of him had a large, brown bushy mustache, along with red, black, and yellow attire.

"Eggman..." the red echidna said to himself. He then saw Eggman ordering his robot to destroy part of the city in order to search for something. The place where Knuckles was standing on was close to the location of where he felt the energy spike, it's most likely that Eggman was looking for the source and use it for evil purposes. Knuckles then thought for a quick second of what he should do, either find the source of the energy spike or destroy the robot. Well, he doesn't see Sonic anywhere in sight, so he might as well take out the robot on his own this time. Without further ado, he ran over to the robot and punched into one of the robot's legs, but all it left was a dent!

"Hmm?" Eggman had his attention turned to the source of the sound of punched metal, "Well, if it isn't Knuckles!" he gave out his trademark smirk as he laughed a little.

"Eggman! What are you up to this time?!" Knuckles was shaking his fists as he glared at Eggman, more than once he's been tricked by Eggman about Sonic doing things that might harm the Master Emerald or other things involving peace. However, he's not going to be fooled about anything related Sonic this time.

"Why should I tell you when almost everyone knows about it?" Eggman gave out his trademark laugh.

"The energy spike!" Knuckles realized.

"Correct!" Eggman said, "With that much power, I'll destroy this place and then I'll be able to make my Eggman Empire!"

"Not if I can help it!" Knuckles then became stubborn as he punched continuously at the robot's legs, trying to prevent it from moving as the robot stood still. It moved it's head as it rammed Knuckles off his feet with one of its front legs, causing Knuckles to lose his breath, which was already weakening him. He then looked up and saw the robot about to give him the finishing blow, until a certain blue blur that was all too familiar appeared as it went through the robot's leg, breaking it in half.

"Heh," Sonic smirked as he appeared in front of Knuckles, "Guess I made it in time, huh?" he said as he lent his hand out to Knuckles and tossed aside a newspaper he was holding.

"...Showoff..." Knuckles smirked a little as he took it, making Sonic pull him up to his feet, "Eggman's looking for the source of the energy spike that appeared here. If he finds that thing, who knows what's gonna happen!"

"So he's looking for the source too, eh?" Sonic said, "Well, I guess we'll have to beat up big-ol' Spidey, eh?"

"So, Sonic's here now, eh?" Eggman said as he noticed Sonic, "Well, let's see how you handle my newest invention, eh?" he then shouted out a few commands at his robot, which then caused it's two front legs to turn into large laser cannons (or guns).

Sonic didn't say anything as he ran towards the spider-bot. It fired its laser cannons, but Sonic was too fast for the lasers to even hit. With ease he broke off five more of the thin legs that it had, leaving only two thin legs and its two thiner legs. Just when Sonic was about to take out the two remaining thin legs, he was forced to stop just after Eggman shouted a few more commands, causing the robot to transform into a different shape. Instead of it being a spider shape that it used to be, it transformed into a sort of bipedal dome-shaped rhino. The thick legs it had in its previous form now became its standing legs, as its remaining thin legs became thicker, turning it into even more powerful cannons. Sonic and Knuckles just looked on as it continued transforming into a completely different robot, it then finished its transforming stage as it finally began to aim its two cannons at Sonic and Knuckles.

"See any weakpoint?" Sonic asked as he quickly scanned the newly transformed robot, unfortunately, he couldn't find any.

"Nope," Knuckles replied as he readied his fists, "I guess we're gonna have to find a way to destroy it from the inside, but I'm getting the feeling that it's not going be easy."

"You always get that feeling, Knuckles," Sonic smirked, "But, this time, I agree."

"Hmph! Well, Sonic! Knuckles!" Eggman said as he laughed, "Now... prepare for your doom!"

The robot did numerous techniques involving its two laser cannons, however, Sonic and Knuckles were too quick for the lasers to hit them. Even though they managed to dodge the laser beams, they kept damaging the nearby buildings, causing large chunks of debris falling down. Debris was especially falling near the area where the energy spike was detected, but that was not the thing that caught the attention of Sonic and Knuckles.

"Sonic! Help!"

Sonic and Knuckles turned to the source of the voice within the areas of where the lasers were landing, taking shelter within an alley were two rabbits, both a mother and child. The mother rabbit had peach and orange colored fur, and wore a red-purple and pink dress, she had her arms with white gloves covering her hands. She was Vanilla the Rabbit, and she had her arms wrapped around her daughter in an attempt to protect her from harm. Her daughter, Cream the Rabbit, looked like a younger version of Vanilla; only she was wearing an orange dress with a blue ribbon on it, she also had a pair of orange and yellow shoes on. Within her arms was a small blue creature with yellow accents, he was also wearing a small red bow tie; he was was Cream's very best friend, he was her Chao named Cheese.

Sonic then realized that the lasers might harm both Vanilla, Cream, and Cheese if it ever hits them, since they were so close to both the lasers shooting range. He then told Knuckles to try to get the laser away from them while he kept Eggman busy; unfortunately, once again, Eggman noticed the three hiding, he then yelled out a command telling his rhino-shaped robot to shoot one of its most powerful lasers at them. As it was charging, Eggman then activated something on hovercraft, which caused a large pole to shoot out from the rhino-shaped robot. It then activated as it created a tiny barriers, trapping Sonic and Knuckles inside.

"**_OH NO!_**" Sonic was getting desperate as he tried to break through the barrier with a spin attack, "It's no use, Knuckles! We can't get through!"

"I'm not giving up yet!" Knuckles yelled as he punched at the barrier, unfortunately, the barrier proved to be too strong on the inside. He then cursed at himself as he tried to punch through again and again.

"Sonic! Knuckles!" Cream screamed at the laser finished charging and fired...

"**_NOOOOOOO!!_**" Sonic and Knuckles couldn't do nothing but watch until...

**_BOOM!!_**

Smoke billowed from where Vanilla and the others were, Sonic couldn't even stand seeing the smoke of what he thought took the lives of Vanilla, Cream, and their Chao named Cheese.

"If only I was faster..." he was then cut off by Knuckles.

"Sonic! Look at that!" Knuckles pointed at something just barely shining from within the smoke. As soon as Sonic saw what he thought it was, his eyes widened in disbelief.

"**_WHAT?!_**" Eggman yelled as he stared at the shining object not clearly revealed yet, "**_What is that thing?!_**"

Sonic and Knuckles only looked on as the smoked slowly cleared, the shining object revealed itself to be some sort of a giant shining cyan-colored crystallized... _clawed hand...?_ Smoke was coming out from the palm of the clawed, crystallized hand. It only took a brief second for Sonic to realize that it actually _blocked_ the laser from hitting Vanilla and the others, since he found them safe and sound, but... Why were they looking scared? His question was instantly answered as the giant hand's claws dug into the asphalt concrete, it fingers then moved around like a spider as it came closer and closer to the barrier that Sonic and Knuckles were trapped in. It stopped for a moment, until something then landed right next to the hand as it caused a small tremor, almost knocking Sonic and Knuckles off their feet. What they saw shocked everyone around them, even Eggman, Vanilla, and Cream and Cheese.

A human girl of around sixteen was standing before Sonic and Knuckles, she was the owner of the clawed hand, as it was part of her own left arm. Her entire left arm was crystallized, her arm became around as large as her entire body as the hand was about the size of a small boulder. The right side of her face was crystallized as well, her right eye was a shining crimson red while her left eye was a gentle emerald green, much like Sonic's. Her hair was a dark red brown, but from halfway down to the bottom, her hair was a crystal-like cyan-blue as it glimmered in the sunlight above them. What she wore puzzled Sonic and Knuckles, she wore what seemed to be a black parka; she also wore black boot-like shoes and had a hip pouch wrapped around her hips, she also had a black and blue backpack on her back... She seemed to be dressed for the winter, which is confusing to Sonic and everyone around her except Eggman, because right now it's summer here in Station Square!

She gave out a growl as she bared her teeth at Eggman high above her, Sonic could've sworn that she actually had crystallized fangs as well, but he wasn't sure. The crystallized girl then turned her head to Sonic and Knuckles, her eyes seemed empty of any emotion. She didn't say anything as she slashed at something, barely missing Knuckles.

"WHOA!" it took Knuckles a few seconds to regain his balance, he then noticed that the barrier Eggman made had disappeared.

Sonic slowly approached her, "Are you... trying to help?"

She turned her head at him; it was then Sonic noticed that she had glasses on, but they were heavily damaged and cracked, as if she had tripped and broke the lenses. However, she didn't seemed fazed by it as her eyes then made her look like she was thinking. Sonic was about to ask again until she let out a pained growl as she grimaced a little, she ignored Sonic's question he was about to ask again as she charged straight at the rhino-shaped robot Eggman created.

"Destroy her!" Eggman yelled at his robot. His robot did as it was told and fired its two lasers, however, they were being blocked by her giant crystallized hand. Just as Eggman was about to shout out another command, the crystallized girl jumped up high in the air and slashed at the body armor of the robot. Nothing happened at first, until everyone noticed that she actually slashed off part of the thick body armor!

"No way!" Knuckles became surprised, "Even my attacks couldn't get through that!"

"Well then!" Sonic smirked, "Then let's take 'em out!" he then ran over to the robot and did a spin attack, which damaged it a little, and then retreated back to Knuckles, "Well, this guy's still got some bulk in it!" he then noticed the rhino-shaped robot about to shoot one its lasers again, "**_HEY! LOOK OUT!_**" The girl instantly reacted and used her crystallized arm to block the laser. However, due to her being so close, she was pushed back all the way to Sonic and Knuckles. She then regained her footing, completely oblivious to both Sonic and Knuckles next to her.

"Hey, you all right?" Sonic asked with slight concern. She paid no attention, she was about to charge at the robot again, until she suddenly tensed. She gave out a small pained grunt as her eyes widened a little and suddenly...

"**_GHACK!_**" she coughed up blood, her arm suddenly turned back into a normal arm with a "CLACK" sound. The crystallized areas around her body, even the cyan color in her hair had faded away as she collapsed to her knees.

"Hey! You all right?! Hey!" Sonic placed his hand on her back, "What happened?"

"Unnhh... No... Mer... Merh... Merhea..." she barely muttered these words as she coughed up blood again.

"What...?" Sonic was confused, he then turned to Knuckles, "We need to finished that guy off!" he said to Knuckles as he pointed at Eggman's robot, "We'll worry about her later!"

"Got it!" Knuckles nodded in response as both he and Sonic raced over to the area that the girl slashed off, Knuckles then went ahead and punched a hole that led to the inside of the robot, "Sonic! Aim here!"

"All right!" Sonic said as he prepared for another spin attack, just as he did so, he launched himself into the air and pierced into the robot. After a few seconds, dents then appeared from the inside. It wasn't long until Sonic suddenly came out and the robot exploded behind him.

"**_NOOOO!!_** My greatest invention!" Eggman was acting immature about him losing... again... He then regained his composure and pointed at Sonic, "You may have won for now, Sonic! But I'll get the source of that energy spike eventually! Then I'll make my Eggman Empire and rule the world!" Eggman gave out his trademark laugh (again) as he floated away (again for _who knows how many times?!_). Sonic paid no attention as he and Knuckles ran over to the girl again, this time with Vanilla, Cream and Cheese by her side. The girl wasn't moving as soon as Sonic and Knuckles arrived, she must've passed out while they went to take out Eggman's robot, they only watched as Vanilla examined the girl.

"Is she okay, Mama?" Cream asked as Vanilla checked for the girl's pulse.

"I'm not sure, dear," Vanilla then placed her gloved hand on the girl's left side of her parka, it was then she felt something warm and wet, "Hm?" She unzipped the black parka and took it off of her, but she didn't see the source of where the wet spot came from. Cream, however, did notice that the white sweater she was wearing seemed torn a little, and that something was hidden under the black cotton T-shirt which seemed to be one size too big for her.

"Mama..." Cream said to her mother.

"I'll check it, dear," Vanilla said in response. She checked the girl out again, this time she saw what seemed to be a makeshift bandage made out of the torn white sweater she was wearing. Vanilla and the others then noticed that something red was leaking out of her left side, Vanilla turned her over and saw something to her horror... It was a large gash-like tear on her left side, and it was still bleeding a little...

"Oh... no..." Sonic couldn't believe his eyes, how in the world could she even be alive?

"Ah...!" Vanilla then turned to the others, "We've got to get her to a hospital right away!"

...

Tails and Amy did question Sonic about what happened, but Vanilla said that it'll have to wait until they head to her house. Knuckles went back to Angel Island because both he and Sonic were unable to find the source of the energy spike, and that he had to guard the Master Emerald from harm, but he did say that he will come back to check in on the girl once she leaves the hospital. Right now, Vanilla was waiting in the lobby with her daughter Cream and their Chao named Cheese. Amy and Tails was also waiting with them, mostly because they felt pity for the girl. Sonic would've also waited but, being the usual hedgehog that loathes waiting, he just decided to run around to pass the time. This was fine for the others, since it could take a load off of Sonic's mind.

"I wonder if she'll be all right?" Cream said in worry as she was still hugging Cheese.

"Chao Chao..." Cheese looked at Cream sadly.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Cream," Vanilla gave her a comforting rub on her head, "After I saw on what she did, I know that she's a strong one. Once she wakes up, we'll be able to ask her about her abilities and where she came from."

"But what if she attacks?" Amy asked, "I mean, she may have attacked Eggman because she felt threatened by it?"

"We'll find out soon, Amy," Tails said, "But I can't help but wonder... what caused her to get those wounds? And why did seem to be dressed for winter? I mean, it's summer!"

"Her clothes obviously state that she's not from here," Vanilla said, "Like I said earlier, we'll ask her once she wakes up."

Just then the automatic door leading outside opened, catching the attention of Vanilla and the others, they then noticed Sonic back from his usual running.

"I'm back," Sonic said with no emotion in his voice, he then turned his attention to Vanilla, "So... Any word?"

"No, not yet," Vanilla shook her head, "But we..." she was then cut off by a human medical doctor with a clipboard who arrived just seconds after, "Well?" Vanilla asked, "How is she?"

"She'll live," the doctor said, "We've managed to close up the wound on her left side. She also lost a lot of blood, thankfully there was enough blood of her type here for her to have. So... she should wake up within a day or two at most."

"How did she get that wound on her side anyway?" Sonic asked, "It looked like it got ripped."

"Well..." the doctor scratched his neck as he became a little sympathetic, "We've found what seemed to be traces of lead inside of the wounded area, because of that, we came to one conclusion: apparently, someone shot her with a lead bullet."

"_Oh dear..._" Vanilla's face nearly turned white, "I didn't think she would even live through that..."

"Luckily it missed her vital organs," the doctor said, "And we've managed to remove the lead content inside of her, so... she'll recover pretty quickly."

"Were you able to find out her name?" Amy asked.

"No, however..." the doctor shook his head as he took out a card from his pocket, "We've found this in her belongings. I tell you, she's got some strange items; but the card's partially burnt, so we couldn't get a name from it at all."

"I see... That's too bad..." Amy muttered.

"Is she well enough to leave the hospital?" Vanilla asked, "If you need me to, I can make her stay at my house."

"That would be a good idea," the doctor nodded, "I know from experience that kids her age tend to be scared of hospitals if they ever suddenly wake up here."

"Thank you," Vanilla then looked at Sonic ant the others and gave them a wink, then turned back to the doctor, "How much does the medical bill cost?"

"Since she's a victim from Dr. Eggman's attack, there's no charge," the doctor answered, he turned to leave and said, "It's a good thing you guys saved her, if she was out there for another hour or two, she would've been dead before we even know it."

...

**...**

...

Ugh... What the heck...? Where the heck am I...?

My head was still groggy due to loss of blood and fatigue, I couldn't remember much after the events of those three lights I saw in the world of nothingness. Well... I remember parts of my body crystallizing, making me turn into a monster of some sort, but... I hope it was only a dream. What I remember after that... were voices of someone crying for help, and I rushed inside the pitch-black darkness with my crystallized hand stretched out. Oddly, I did feel a tinge of heat which did hurt my hand a little, but I did shake it off. Somehow, my body acted on its own after that; I also remembered my body coughing up blood again, but... that's all I can remember... my memory been pretty... dark and foggy... I then became worried, I wonder if Merhea's okay? Did those three thugs finds us in the Sweet Lane while I was was unconscious? All these questions were inside of my mind as I slowly regained consciousness, it was then I realized I was lying on my back. I let out a tiny moan as I tried to take a deep breath, I then heard voices... who are they?

"Hey... look guys... I think she's coming too..." that voice... it sounded very... familiar... it sounded like a boy's voice, but I wasn't quite sure.

"Be careful, though; she might attack," a girly, feminine voice said. Me? Attack? Why would I attack someone? I only attack people in self-defense, but...

"Shh... Quiet everyone," this time, a sweet adult voice said, "She might attack if we scare her, give her some time. Amy, turn the light down a little..." Huh... well... Sure I am scared a little right now, but... All I'm wondering is _where the heck am I?!_

I grunted a little in pain as I opened my eyes a little. Thankfully, the room wasn't too bright, true to that woman's words. I fully opened my eyes as I tried to scan the room; unfortunately, my vision was all blurry, I could barely even tell what whatever was in front of me. I turned my head to my right, I saw what seemed to be very blurry figures, but I couldn't tell what they were without my glasses. The one closet to me was a peach-colored blur, along with a tinge of red and pink, I couldn't tell... The one next to it on its left was a... blue blur? I moved my right hand and felt the area I was laying on, I figured that I was on what seemed to be a bed. I turned my attention to the two blurs again and this time, I lifted my hand. I slowly extended it to the blue blur in order for to find out what it was, I then saw the blur move for a moment as I felt a hand gently grab mine. I was about to resist until...

"Oh wait..." I then felt something press into my palm as another hand gently wrap my fingers around the object, "Here..." I heard the adult voice say.

I took my hand back as I gently felt the object... what a relief, it was my glasses! I slowly struggled as I tried to sit up, I was about to fall back down on the bed until I felt a strong hand against my back. Thanks to that, I was able to sit up correctly with my back slumped forward a little. I unfolded my glasses and slowly put them on, I then blinked a few times in order for my eyes to get accustomed to my new vision. I then looked down at my left arm, it was just a normal arm, no crystallized arm whatsoever. I then moved my fingers over to the right side of my face, all I felt was smooth skin, no crystallized part there either. I sighed a little in relief, until I remembered... what happened to my gunshot wound?! Slowly, I felt over my left side. I didn't feel any blood, but I did feel what seemed to be bandages around the area of my stomach. Then something hit me... did these people find both me and Merhea in the Sweet Lane? Is Merhea even here with me? I tried to remember as I put my fingers around my forehead, I tried to remember... what happened...? Why can't I remember anything after the Sweet Lane...?

"Are you all right?" the sweet adult voice asked.

I slowly turned my head and froze as I saw who I didn't think even existed, I was in front of Vanilla the Rabbit, face to face! Next to her was her daughter Cream the Rabbit and their Chao named Cheese, next to then was both Tails and Amy Rose! I then remembered the blue blur from before, if he was who I think he is... I turned my head and saw no other than Sonic the Hedgehog, face to face as well! Ah, forget it, nothing's so much surprising anymore these days, but this is ridiculous! I mean, how in the world am I meeting the famous video game characters of the Sonic series?! I mean, I've read numerous fanfics about people somehow getting themselves into whichever Sonic universe is there, but like I said before, this is ridiculous!

...Speaking of which... which universe am I in anyway? I know that Cream, Cheese and Vanilla never appeared in the Archie Comics, so that's out of the list... otherwise I would've had to face a very suspicious certain ground squirrel called Sally Acorn, I remember she's a princess of some kingdom... was it Acorn or Knothole? Ah forget it, I never read the comics anyway, so I don't know. The early cartoons are also out of the question since Cream is here; boy, she makes a really helpful marker of where I am. So... all I can think of is me being either in the games or the anime called Sonic X... Only one way to find out...

"Thorn...dyke...?" I barely uttered out of my mouth.

"Thorndyke?" Vanilla seemed a little surprised, "Who or what is a Thorndyke?"

Okay, it's official. Somehow, thankfully, I'm in the video game universe. I find that a relief actually, because I only know things from the video games at most! The reason why I said "Thorndyke" is because that's the last name of a Sonic X exclusive character named Christopher "Chris" Thorndyke, if they were in Sonic X, they would've most likely known what I was talking about (albeit indirectly). I had no interest in that kid, but he has his ways of being a strange anime character... I think... Realizing the situation I was in, I then began to hesitate...

"Uh..." I tried to think up some other random words that make little to no sense, "Um... I... uh..."

"Is Thorndyke your last name?" Vanilla asked me, as I shook my head in response, "Oh... Then... What is your name?"

"I... uh... I... uh... I am... uh..." I couldn't get my mouth to say the words of my name.

"Your name?" uh oh... Sonic's getting impatient with me...

"Um... Maria ...Ro..." my voice cut off again.

"Maria Ro...?" Vanilla waited patiently for me to finish.

"Maria... Robotnik..." I then grimaced as I said my last name, having the same last name as Eggman has always bugged me to no end. I would've changed it long ago, but where would that get me to?

"Hey, you have-...OW! Amy...!" Sonic was cut off as Amy elbowed his side.

"I doubt she's related to Eggman at all Sonic," Amy whispered to him, but I was able to hear her anyway.

"Egg... man...?" I faked confusion as best as I could, thankfully, they seemed to buy it, "Who is... Eggman...?"

"Didn't you see him?" Sonic said, "You destroyed his robot's armor with one clean swipe of your crystallized arm!"

I let out a small gasp which, unfortunately, caught their attention. I looked at my left arm again, I actually used it as a... a weapon...? Did this actually happen... after those lights? I can't remember much of anything, I mean, what exactly happened? What did I do? And most of all... did I hurt anyone...?

"I... what...?"

"You don't remember?" Tails asked me with a concerned look.

"Um... No... But I..." my mind then snapped, "Oh shoot! Merhea!" this really got their attention, I mean, they don't even know where she could possibly be!

"Who's this Merhea you're talking about, dear?" Vanilla asked as she her hand on my shoulder.

I then calmed down a bit, "She's my little sister, I got separated for her shortly after I passed out in the Sweet Lane. I don't know how I got here, but I need to find her... I have to! She's the only family I have left! She's only six years old, she's too young to be out there on her own..." I tried my best not to cry at I bit my lip a little. I mean, hey, how would you feel if you were ever separated from your only remaining family member? I kept thinking about what could've happened to Merhea, I just sat there looking ay my arm until I felt someone wrap their arms around me. I turned my head and saw that Vanilla was embracing me, it felt... comforting... I guess this is what happens after I've been alone without a mother figure, and this just a little... overwhelming...

"Wha...?" I could barely utter a word.

"Don't worry, Maria," Vanilla said soothingly, "We'll help you find your sister, you can tell us about you until then. Is that okay everyone?" she looked at Sonic and the others.

"I'm in," Sonic said with his trademark smirk, "No kid that age should be out there alone," he paused for a moment, "Wait a minute... we don't even know what she looks like."

"Um... I think I have a photo of her in my backpack..." I said as Vanilla let go of me. I stopped for a moment, then I asked, "Where is my stuff? And where am I anyway? ... Okay... Somehow... I feel stupid asking you that..." Man, talk about me saying something so cliche...

"It's okay," Vanilla chuckled a little, "Your things are right here on this side of the room," she pointed at a small pile of items, to my relief, it was my items, "As for where you are, you're inside my house in Station Square. You were in really bad shape when we managed to get to you, you were out for over a day..."

"Oh..." I sighed. Well what do you know? I was out unconscious for over a day! Well... I'm sure Merhea's fine, I mean, she's a tough little girl... At least, I hope she is...

"I got her backpack, Mama," Cream suddenly popped up as she handed me my backpack, I didn't say anything as I rummaged around it for a few seconds. I finally found what I was looking for and took out a tiny photo album, I've been putting way too many random things in there. I could've sworn that one time Merhea packed our Nintendo Wii with her one time (how did she disconnect it anyway?), but I can't remember.

"Here," I opened a page of the album and showed them one that had Merhea's full figure, "This what she looks like."

"Wow, she's really cute," Amy commented, "But her hair looks a little weird..." true to her words, Merhea did have what seemed to be dirty blonde tips at the bottom of her hair.

"I know," I nodded as I sighed, "her hair's always like that. I personally don't see what's wrong with it though."

...

Sonic was thinking over the things Maria was saying as Vanilla talked to her. First, she doesn't seem to be able to remember any of the events of her helping Sonic and Knuckles destroying the robot Eggman made. Second, she only seemed focused on looking for this Merhea person, who apparently, is her younger sister. What amazed him is that she has the same last name as Eggman's, which is "Robotnik." Not only that, she had the same name as that girl mentioned in Professor Gerald Robotnik's diary in the space colony ARK. He remembered that Gerald's granddaughter was the person Shadow knew, but Sonic knew that the Maria talking to Vanilla right now is definitely not the one fifty years ago. Sonic just simply decided to listen in Vanilla's conversation with Maria.

"So, your sister's not related to you by blood?" Vanilla asked.

"No," Maria shook her head, "I met her not long I was sent to that orphanage. She was so scared I... I couldn't leave her like that..."

"Aw..." Amy was amazed, "I didn't know you would be so caring..."

"Ehehe... It's a habit, to be honest," Maria gave out a nervous laugh, "I guess that's just the weird little me, eh?"

"I think it's a very kind thing, Maria," Cream said, then realized something, "Oh wait, I forgot! We didn't introduce ourselves didn't we?"

Sonic noticed Maria sweatdrop at that as she blushed a little in embarrassment, he guessed that she must've gone through that a lot. Always talking to someone for a moment and not introducing each other, but Sonic didn't mind that, he thinks that it's sometimes better that way. However, the way she was acting, she looked incredibly confused.

"Well," Maria said, bringing Sonic to reality, "You know me, with my name being Maria and all... So... what's yours?"

"I'm Vanilla the Rabbit," Vanilla said, she then placed her hand on Cream's shoulder, "and this this is my daughter Cream and her Chao friend Cheese."

"Hi," Cream bowed in a polite manner, which caused Maria to give her a somewhat surprised look. Sonic guessed she must've never expected Cream to be so polite.

"Chao Chao," Cheese chirped as he fluttered over towards Maria's head. Maria give make a strange look on her face as she looked up without moving her head.

"Hello there, little guy," Maria said with some interest in her voice, she raised her arm and rubbed Cheese's head, making Cheese's pom-pom-like ball turn into a heart for a moment.

"Looks like Cheese has taken a liking to you, Maria," Vanilla smiled.

"You think so?" Maria asked, "By the way, before we forget, who are they?"

"I'm Sonic," Sonic said with a thumbs up, "Sonic the Hedgehog."

"And I'm Tails," Tails said with a smile on his face, "I'm Sonic's best friend, right Sonic?"

"You got it, buddy," Sonic playfully slapped Tails' arm.

"And I'm Sonic's girlfriend, Amy Rose!" she tried to hug Sonic, but he dodge before she could do so, making her fall on the floor, "OW!"

"Amy, enough of the "boyfriend, girlfriend' thing already!" Sonic said as he looked annoyed, "You're driving me crazy because of it!"

"... I guess that means that Amy has long self-declared that's she's your uh... girlfriend?" Maria raised a brow while giving off a nervous smile.

"You could say that..." Sonic said.

...

Wow! It's hard to believe that I'm actually talking to Sonic himself, this is so exciting! It was actually really hard for me to resist myself being so excited. I also liked it when Cheese the Chao fluttered up to my head like that, now I know what being around a Chao feels like. I've raised a Chao or two in _S__onic Adventure 2: Battle_ but... this is much better than the games! ...Wait a minute... speaking of games... which one am I in anyway? Or am I in a timeline between two games? Well, only one way find out once again.

"Do you have any other friends uh... Vanilla?" I asked, not wanting to insult Vanilla.

"Well, there is the Chaotix..." Vanilla put her finger against her lip in a thinking matter, "Then there's Knuckles, Silver, Blaze... Oh, and Shadow too."

"Speaking of Shadow..." Sonic suddenly spoke, "Where is he anyway?"

"He's still in the hospital," Vanilla said, "He hasn't recovered from his wounds from Eggman yet, remember? It's a good thing he was even able to escape from him."

"Oh, right... I forgot..." Sonic scratched his head, I guess he's been a tad forgetful lately. I then suddenly remembered... that dream... Shadow!

"Um... Ma'am?" I began to ask Vanilla.

"Yes?" Vanilla looked at me, expecting a question.

"Were you... able to find out... how he escaped?" I shrugged as I asked.

"Well..." Sonic tried to think of an answer, "When I asked him how he escaped... he said that he had help from someone, he just wouldn't tell us who."

My eyes widened a little, I then remember that I possessed his body and helped him escape... no way... the thing in my dream... actually happened?! I could hardly believe it, but... how was it possible? I mean, I was sleeping in my own _bed_, in _my_ world, when that happened! Unless somehow... I've gained new abilities that make me do strange things. I guess that makes sense, because of my body crystallizing when I was in that _dark void_, I guess I shouldn't find it this surprising. Then a more important thought came to my mind...

"I... I'm ready to find Merhea again..." I said.

"Are you sure, dear?" Vanilla asked me, "You don't look well enough yet..."

"I don't care," I shook my head, "I want to find my sister, she needs me, I know it," I shook my fists, showing them that I still have energy left inside of me. Cheese squeaked a few times as he was still sitting on my head, but then I smiled as I gently lifted him off my head and gave him back to Cream, "I don't care what happens to me, I just want my sister to be safe."

"Heh," Sonic gave me his trademark smirk, "Guess you're not gonna change your mind eh?" it was then I smirked back, he then lifted his hand near me, "Ready?"

"Ready," I said as I took his hand, I then decided to have one last bit of fun, "Hey look! A chili dog!" I pointed behind Sonic.

Sonic turned his head behind him, but he didn't seem that excited, he then turned back at me as he had a strange look on his face, "Uh... What...?"

"Never mind..." I said, chuckling to myself, "If you knew where I came from, you'd get it."

"Oh... Sorry, but your jokes don't make sense," Sonic gave me a weird look again. Huh, I guess since I'm in the video game universe, Sonic doesn't have chili dogs as his favorite food or something... Hmm... I _know_ I'm gonna have some fun with him now... I smiled mischievously inside my mind.

"Oh well, I get that all the time," I shrugged, then I did a somewhat stupid 'prepare for your journey' pose and said, "Now let's do it to it and find Merhea!"

"What...?" Sonic sweatdropped at me once again, I sighed.

This is going to be a long day...

**...**

**(End of the Third Crystal)**

**...**

**Authoress' Note:** There, I told you that the actual adventure starts now, did I? Hehehe! I love the craziness that Maria here made in the ending. And no, I won't tease you for the Fourth Crystal... or am I doing that right now?

**References:** The location of Tails' workshop and Station Square is based on the Sonic Adventure game, mostly because the location varies in the series. I really don't know where Cream's house was located (I've never played Sonic Rush), so I guess it's acceptable for me to put her house in Station Square. Just so you know, she lives next door to Amy's.

The part in the beginning that Sonic doesn't want to be forced into marriage with Amy was added to keep in the series' running gag of Amy always chasing Sonic during the series for something. I don't do pairings because to me, romance doesn't make any sense. I don't mind the romance fanfics that are in this site, but I prefer the usual running gag of Amy chasing Sonic for _who knows how long?!_

Sonic says "Amy, knock it off!" in the game called "_Sonic Heroes_" (the supposed sequel of S_onic Adventure 2_) when Team Sonic and Team Rose fight each other early in the game (it doesn't matter who you play as). Sonic says that because Amy was trying to catch him (again for _who knows how many times?!_).

The gray shoe buckles on each of Knuckles' boots resembles the popular children's toy called "LEGO Blocks," I know I'm not the only one who thought of this, but I added it there for not only as a somewhat helpful description, but as an inside joke. I know it's not very funny, but I put it there anyway.

In the American cartoons and the Archie Comics of the _Sonic the Hedgehog_ series, Sonic's favorite food was chili dogs from what I've heard. However, this didn't seem canon to the games, so I didn't make chili dogs as his favorite food (I actually don't like chili dogs to be honest). In the American cartoon called _Sonic Underground_, Sonic uses the catch phrase "Let's do it to it!" occasionally. Maria used that phrase jokingly, but she was serious at the same time.

Did you like the Third Crystal? I hope you did.


	4. You Can't Force Him

My thanks to BriMarie for this story's very first review!

I had to correct some punctuation and spelling errors on this thing, but the Fourth Crystal has come!

**Disclaimer (once again for many times):** I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, they belong rightfully to SEGA. Only Maria and Merhea belong to me.

...

**The Fourth Crystal: You Can't Force Him...**

...

Inside of what seems to be a military base located somewhere in the Mystic Ruins, a female white bat was walking down a long hallway as she looked at her newly rewarded jewel, which was a small ruby about the size of a golf ball. Most of her body was covered in a skin-tight black body suit, she also wore long, white gloves with pink bands at the end that reached her elbows. Her thigh-high white high-heeled boots with the same fashion as her gloves, with pink hearts around the toes. Her most notable feature was her pink heart-shaped breastplate, which suited well with her voluptuous appearance. Her head had glossy white fur, with her ears twitching as she was captivated by her newly owned ruby. She wore blue eye shadow on her eyelids along with reddish pink lipstick, her black mascara perfectly showed her eyelashes with little trouble. She was Rouge the Bat, who is a top secret agent from GUN, also known as the Guardian Units of Nation.

"Hmm hmm hmm," she hummed and chuckled as she looked at her ruby, "Ah yes, the ruby... a beautiful red, yes you are..." she looked up away from her jewel for a moment in order for her to know where she was, apparently she walked close to the exit. Without further ado, she just decided to walk outside for no apparent reason. The GUN base Rouge was in was located in a jungle south of the Mystic Ruins, which can easily explain why lush, tropical trees are easily spotted here. Rouge often feels at home in jungles such as this, being a bat is not usually easy. The main reason is because of her very sensitive hearing, hearing high-pitched noises is usually one of Rouge's worst nightmares, which can hurt her head to no end. Putting her new ruby away inside the tiny pack she was wearing on her back, Rouge then decided to fly about in the air for a while. Making sure she was clear of any obstacles, she gracefully leapt into the air, stretched her large black wings and took flight.

"Ah... Now that feels much better..." Rouge said to herself in contentment as she flew to a nearby tree covered with what seemed to be grapevines. She landed on a high thick branch, which was where the best grapes were located. After inspecting some of then, she picked off a small hand-sized bunch and popped a purple-colored grape into her mouth. Rouge isn't usually picky when it comes down to food, but she is careful in maintaining her shape. After she ate her small handful, she took flight again and landed near the GUN base near a few trees. Rouge would usually go out in order to find more jewels for her to find, but somehow, she didn't feel like doing any jewel thieving for a little while. Maybe it was because she was worried about Shadow the Hedgehog, after she found out that Shadow managed to escape from Eggman, despite those wounds of his. She did recall Shadow saying that he received a helping hand from someone, but wouldn't say who or what. Rouge then took out her new ruby and stared at it again, it was not like she had anything else to do...

"I see you've obtained another one?"

Rouge turned to the direction where the voice was coming from, to her surprise, it was Shadow the Hedgehog.

"Shadow!" Rouge wasn't expecting to see Shadow, "I thought you were still in the hospital..."

"I was let out early," Shadow said with his arms crossed, with most of his left arm covered in bandages, "I didn't need to be there anyway."

"Still, you shouldn't push yourself. And yes, I earned another gem in my collection," Rouge said as she put the ruby away in her pack.

"I'm aware of that..." Shadow said as he seemed lost in thought.

Rouge didn't say anything else, now that Shadow seemed in thought. She guessed that Shadow was thinking about his 'rescuer,' speaking of which, why did Shadow refuse to tell anyone of who it may be? If that rescuer of his was out there somewhere, he or she might make a good jewel thief... Rouge pushed aside that thought. She then wondered... now that he's alone, would he tell her who was the person who helped him escape? She wasn't sure, but now she has to be careful, because she doesn't want to make Shadow too upset. Rouge long ago swore to herself that no matter what, she will never leave Shadow's side. Afterall, other than the robot E-123 Omega that Eggman created, she was Shadow's only close friend since Maria Robotnik's death.

"Um... Shadow?"

Shadow opened his eyes as he was brought back to reality, "What is it?"

"Can you tell me..." Rouge paused for a moment, "Who helped you escape?"

Shadow didn't say anything for a moment, he quickly thought up of an answer, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Actually, yes I would," Rouge said as she put her hands on her hips, not that she was trying to act flirtatious.

"I will tell you..." Shadow then thought of something, then said, "...Only if you do not tell anyone else here."

"Okay fine, I won't," Rouge said, "Now spit it."

"...To tell you the truth," Shadow uncrossed his arms as he leaned against a nearby tree, "I... don't know who helped me myself..."

"You don't?" Rouge was surprised, was this why Shadow wouldn't say anything? "But then... if you don't know who, then... How were you able to escape from Dr. Eggman?"

"...I... didn't... to tell you the truth," Shadow said as he saw her with a confused look on her face, "What I mean is... _she_... did the escaping for me."

"So the person who help you was a girl?" Rouge asked as Shadow nodded in response, "Then... how can she do the escaping for you?"

"That's the part you might not believe," Shadow said, "...Somehow... she took control of me."

"As in _possessing_ you?" Rouge seemed skeptical at first.

"Correct," Shadow looked at Rouge, "However, she didn't seem to intend on possessing me in the first place."

"Say what...?" Rouge was now even more confused.

Shadow then told everything he experienced when that unknown person possessed him. About him being all weak and suddenly losing control to that unknown person, how she beat up Eggman because he called Shadow a moron (though he was sure that she was the only one who reacted to it). He also told Rouge about her willing to do what Shadow said, until Shadow's body collapsed in front of Cream's house. Everything he was able to know about her because she communicated with him, and then suddenly losing contact with her as soon as Sonic found him.

"After I realized that she disappeared, I was given back control..." Shadow was thinking about something else again.

"Anything else?" Rouge was now interested in hearing Shadow's story.

"I think I was able to get her name but... she has the same name as..." Shadow trailed off.

"The same as...?" Rouge said, waiting for him to finish.

"She said her name was Maria..." Shadow muttered, "But... it couldn't be... Maria Robotnik's... gone..."

Rouge said nothing after that, since she was thinking over everything Shadow had told her. Is it really possible... for someone to unintentionally possess someone? It could be something of Eggman's doing; then again, if he was behind this, then Shadow wouldn't have escaped anyway. She also wondered... this girl that saved Shadow... is she even alive or dead? Was it really Maria Robotnik, Shadow's first ever friend? Or was it... another Maria of the same name? The possibilities were endless... Rouge tried to think up the most logical explanation for this matter, unfortunately, she thought up none.

"Have you ever tried... meeting this person?" Rouge asked.

"No, I didn't," Shadow shook his head, "...and I don't think I'll ever know..."

...

Hours passed after she woke up inside a hollow trunk of a very large old oak tree, frightening thoughts entered the little girl's mind as she trekked through large, lush tropical trees. But she remembered her promise to her older sister, she promised her older sister that whenever her sister is not around, she will always stay strong and not cry. After a few more minutes of searching for a way out, she stopped and took out a small bag containing of what seems to be a bread-like cake. She broke a piece off of it and slowly ate it, she was glad that her older sister had made these before they left home for school. Within her food supply were three palm-sized bread-like cakes, a bottle of water along with a small pouch of juice, she also had a small bag containing saltine crackers, along with a small bag of three large chocolate chip cookies. Besides the cakes, this was what her older sister packed for the little girls lunch for that school day.

She did feel a little too warm inside the tropical forest, since she was still wearing the winter clothing that her older sister helped put on her. Thankfully, she was able to withstand the feeling of her feeling somewhat uncomfortably warm...

"Big Sis..." she muttered as she bit her lip in order not to cry, "Where are you...? ...Huh...?" she noticed something sparkle within a bush. The source of the sparkle was covered with dirt, as she soon discovered. She slowly approached it and brushed off some of the dirt, the thing she unearthed captivated her as soon as she saw it. A dark blue diamond-shaped jewel about as big as her hand was partially buried in the dirt. Excited, she quickly dug the jewel out and stared at it. Never in all her life had she expected to see a jewel this beautiful! She cleaned the jewel away from its dirt with her hand until she somehow partially saw her reflection radiating from the jewel, in fact, it was practically glowing due to the sunlight!

...Speaking of glowing lights... when she was in that dark void... she saw a large white glowing ball of light, along with two smaller glowing balls of light. One of them being pink and other being yellow, she wondered... what were those lights? She remembered feeling revitalized after those two lights flew into her body, but she felt no side effects or anything from it. She could assume that she was only dreaming, but she was unsure... she would have to ask her older sister when it comes down to any of these matters. Not only that, shortly after she woke up, her sister was nowhere in sight. She wondered again... is her sister even okay? She hoped to the sky above that her sister isn't dead, because she knew that her sister would not leave her that easily...

"Big Sis..." the girl muttered to herself as she looked at the jewel, she then had an idea on what to do with it, "Maybe... Maybe I could give this... to Big Sis..."

The idea of giving the jewel to her sister didn't seem to hurt; afterall, her sister did give her a few things in order to cheer her up. The little girl felt that now she should give something in return, and this jewel seemed perfect for this. Smiling to herself, she put the jewel away in her backpack, covering it with her lightest jacket so that way it won't get damaged. However, she doesn't know the basics of most jewels, due to most of then being damage resistant. Without having anything else slowing her down, the little girl picked up her backpack, slung it to her her back, and kept going forward. She walked for a few more minutes until she spotted something of what seems to be a building, maybe she could help there! Excited once again, she rushed over there as fast as she could, she kept on running until she came across a small floating robot. It looked like an oval-shaped robot with an oval-shaped disk around it like the planet Saturn, a decal that was located on one of it sides read "GUN" across it.

She screamed in fright...

...

Rouge's ears perked up as she heard something.

"You hear that?" Rouge said with her ears twitching, trying to locate the source of the sound.

"Barely," Shadow said as he his hand around his ear, trying to hear it, "What is it?"

"It sounds like someone..." Rouge twitched her ears again, "...screaming in fear," she twitched them again... until she had a shocked look on her face.

"What is it?" Shadow noticed Rouge's expression.

"The source of that screaming..." Rouge twitched her ears again in order to confirm it again," ...it's coming from a child. I don't know how old it is, but at my guess, but it seems to be really young."

"I take it that we have to find this kid?" Shadow asked, crossing his arms again.

"Yes," Rouge said, "and I'm not asking you help me find that kid as a fellow GUN agent, I'm asking as a friend. You will help me, won't you?" she put out her hand, waiting for Shadow's response.

Shadow thought things over for a moment, then uncrossed his arms and took Rouge's hand, "Fine."

"Thanks," Rouge said with a grin, then took off into the air, "It's coming from this way!" Rouge said to Shadow as she pointed to the direction, "You search from the ground and I'll search from the air, we'll clear more area this way!"

"All right!" Shadow said back as he took off into the direction with Rouge following from the air.

...

The girl screamed in fear as she was running away from the robot that was floating towards her, she didn't know if the robot drone was trying to harm her or not, she just finds the robot scary in her view. She actually forgot how long or even how fast she was running, somehow, she just didn't feel tired at all...

"B... Big... Sis... Big Sis..." the little girl struggled not to cry, just like she promised her sister, "Where are you...? ...OOF...!" It was then she tripped over a large tree root.

She was lying down on her stomach against the bottom, thankfully, her small parka had softened her fall. Out of instinct, she took off her backpack and used it to protect her face.''

"Leave me alone..." she was still scared, but she didn't cry.

"**_SCRUNCH!!_**"

She slightly twitched at the sound of metal being crushed against something, before she knew it, she was picked up by what seemed to be strong arms. She looked at the robot... or what was left of it... she then looked up and saw the person who picked her up. He was black colored with red marking on his quills (she's not aware that he's a hedgehog). She then saw a white person with bat wings, examining the robot's remains.

"Huh..." the white one said, "Well, Shadow... I guess we now know where the missing GUN robot went. Somehow, a malfunction made it rogue. If we hadn't arrived in time, this kid would've been killed by it... Speaking of which, how is she?"

"She seems fine," Shadow said.

The girl didn't say anything, all she did was grip her backpack tightly.

"So kid..." the girl turned and saw the one with the pink and white outfit say, "My name is Rouge the Bat, but you can just call me Rouge. This is my partner, Shadow the Hedgehog," she motioned her hand to the black hedgehog holding the girl, "Mind telling us your name?"

"Uh... um..." the girl wasn't sure if she should talk to strangers, then again, she remembered her sister telling her that it's fine to tell people your first name... just not your last, "Um... I'm... Merhea..."

"Merhea, huh?" Rouge then placed her gloved hand on Merhea's head and rubbed it, "That's an interesting name."

"Big Sis named me..." Merhea said in response.

"Who is this 'Big Sis' you're speaking of? Your older sister?" Rouge asked.

"Uh-huh," Merhea nodded in response, "I don't know where my Big Sis is..."

"Is she somewhere around here?"

"...No..." Merhea looked more and more nervous.

"What happened?" Rouge asked, trying to sound as understanding as possible.

Merhea told both Shadow and Rouge of what she remembered. She told them about how she and her sister were getting ready for school in the winter (which caused Shadow and Rouge to give her a weird look), about the delay, the escaped criminals... and how her sister was shot... their escape in an abandoned building... and them passing out shortly afterwards. However, Merhea didn't think it was a good idea to mention those three balls of light she saw in the dark void, so she didn't say anything about it. She then told Shadow and Rouge about her suddenly waking up in this forest with her sister nowhere in sight, the path she had to navigate until she encountered that rogue GUN robot until both Shadow and Rouge arrived. However, once again, she didn't tell them about the jewel she found. Mostly because she remembered her older sister telling her that most people are consumed by greed when it comes down to jewels, she found that jewel so she can give it to her sister as a reunion present... if they're ever reunited...

"I see..." Rouge said, "I guess that explains the parka you're wearing."

"What should we do with her?" Shadow asked, not showing any emotion.

"Well, I don't think it's a good idea to take her to our headquarters," Rouge said, "It might scare her, and we don't want that..." she thought for a moment, then had a mischievous look on her face, "I say we take her to Sonic, that way I'll get to mess with that echidna if he's there."

"...You're planning on messing with Knuckles again, aren't you?" Shadow said this more like a comment than a question.

"Yep, you guessed it," Rouge said, then gently took Merhea's backpack (though Merhea wasn't sure is Rouge should hold onto it), "We'll get to Station Square the old fashioned way, it'll take quite a few hours though... Shadow you carry her."

"I understand," Shadow said as he gently ran off towards Station Square, with Rouge once again following him from behind as she flew.

...

"Um... shouldn't we be searching for Merhea, Amy?"

"Sonic's helping the others to look for her right now, and you're in no condition to do anything reckless. Now let's find some clothes for you to wear."

Shortly after Sonic, Tails, Amy, Vanilla and Cream had agreed over something, Sonic took my photo of Merhea as Tails made a few copies for Vanilla and Cream before giving the original back to me. All of them but Amy left in order to look for Merhea, I would've gone with them, but the wound on my side said otherwise. Shortly after they left, Amy took me to a shopping mall of sorts somewhere in Station Square. I then went back to reality as I found myself in the clothes section with Amy, thankfully, I still had my regular jeans and t-shirt (with its tear caused by the gunshot patched up by Vanilla). That way, with my layers of winter clothes at Vanilla and Cream's house, I won't get any strange looks.

"Hey Maria, what about this one?" I turned and saw Amy showing me one of the clothes I despise, a somewhat long pink-red dress that could reach to your knees was in Amy's hands. Oh great, I have to go through _that_ kind of stuff _again_? Before my mother was killed, she long gave up on me trying to wear girly things, much to my enjoyment.

"Um... Amy," I said with a look of disapproval on my face, "I'm sorry, but... I actually don't like wearing dresses. You see, I prefer everyday clothes like... the one's I'm wearing now."

"Are you sure? You would look good in this dress," Amy said.

"Trust me, Amy," I said, "I don't like dresses, and I don't want to be forced to wear any."

"If you say so..." Amy said, with a look of disappointment on her face.

"I'm not saying that I don't like dresses _overall_," I said, "I like _looking_ at them, just not _wearing_ them."

"Oh," Amy said.

I then looked around the clothes line again, I then saw a white shirt with blue short sleeves, I looked at the different sizes and found one that would fit me. I looked around again and saw a blue light jacket, it looked matching, so I took the one that might be my size. I compared the clothes that I chose with the clothes I was wearing, they seemed fine, since I nodded to myself in satisfaction.

"You like those clothes?" Amy asked, suddenly appearing right next to me.

"What? Is that a problem?" I asked.

"No, it's just that these are boy's clothes..." Amy said.

"Exactly, Amy," I said, "Because I prefer boy's clothes. In the shopping malls from the place where I'm from, most of the girl clothing there were all weird looking. With almost all of them having frills and... a little too revealing..." I shuddered at the last comment, then said with a normal tone, "That's why I prefer wearing either boy's clothing or unisex clothing."

"Unisex?" Amy asked.

"Clothes for both boys and girls," I explained.

"Oh," Amy said in response.

"But... I want to ask you something," I said, "Why are you and Vanilla buying these clothes for me?"

"Because we know we won't be able to get you home in your world soon because of your sister being missing," Amy told me, "Not only that, but you'll be staying with Vanilla and Cream until your wound heals. You're most likely be staying with them for a few days, so we thought it would be nice of us to get you some clean clothes in the process."

Oh right, I forgot about that. Shortly after Vanilla asked me some questions, I told her everything that happened before I passed out in the Sweet Lane. Of course, I left out the part that had me in that dark void with those three balls of light, and that arrow... thingie that caused a severe stabbing pain within my body before I blacked out in that void. I wonder... what was that arrow thing? I pushed aside the thought as I went on with more important business for now: shopping for clothes.

Oh, and by the way, I never said anything about them being video game characters in the world where Merhea and I are from. I've read numerous fanfics about Sonic being told by others about that junk, and oddly... they seem to accept it. If you ask me, I can bet you ten rings from Sonic's world that they would be traumatized if they ever found out about them being in a video game, cartoon, comic... or any of that matter. I mean, take Shadow for example. If he ever found out that some his memories can be accessed through pixels on a screen in our world (as in through the video game showing his memories), I can bet Shadow would go insane. Afterall, I can tell that Shadow is slightly emotionally unstable ever since Maria Robotnik's death. What I mean is, is that he is just as capable of doing good things as doing bad or evil things. I wonder... is he still a GUN agent after the game _Shadow the Hedgehog_?

Okay... _now_ I'm back into the world of reality in Sonic's world, and I'm not joking either.

"I see..." I then looked at the two pieces of clothing I chose, then I looked at clothing around Merhea's size as I took off a small white shirt with short yellow sleeves, "Maybe I should get this for Merhea too..."

"Not a bad idea," Amy said, she then found a shirt at was a least one size too big for me, it was a normal long-sleeved red shirt with white ends like Amy's dress, "How about this one?"

"That's a good one," I said as I raised my brow with interest.

After what seemed to be half an hour, Amy helped me gather five shirts, two light jackets, five pairs of jeans, two sets of pajamas, along with some sports undergarments for me to use. For Merhea, same thing, since I know she usually prefers to wear clothing almost identical to mine. However, Amy did get Merhea a light (turtle-neck?) black dress with a large white stripe starting from what seems to be the turtle neck to the bottom of the dress; in order to let Amy buy that dress, I quickly picked out a black pair of shorts. I only make Merhea wear shorts in order for her to wear dresses. Remember what I said earlier before I came to Sonic's world? I don't want any people being the perverts they are and seeing her underwear...

Amy brought me back to reality as she took me to a fitting room. I was a bit embarrassed that Amy was here, but she told me that she also had clothes to try on, so she went to another fitting room. I went into a somewhat medium sized fitting room with a mirror inside it, and tried on some clothes. All the shirts, jackets, and a few of the sports bras and undergarments fitted comfortably, so I put them into the "buy it" list. I put my regular black sports bra back on as I tried on the jeans, to my surprise, all of them fitted perfectly. This was new to me, because back at home, whenever I go to the mall in order to get some new jeans, it usually takes me over an hour to even find five pairs fitting me as perfectly as these. Seriously, why can't the shopping mall here be like the ones at home? This mall has everything we need for everyday life! From a grocery store, clothing store, electronics... almost any kind of store inside here. Well, maybe it doesn't sell things like killer weapons but (no, I have no interest for weapons, I still prefer fighting with my hands)... still, it's much better than the shopping malls back at home...

...Speaking of things back home... I wonder if Lulubell's okay... I mean, I know that she wasn't with us when Merhea and I were chased by the those men but... did they go after her after they lost track of us? I quickly pushed aside the thought. Knowing Lulubell, she would've beaten those guys to a pulp. She's a tough one, I'll say that, she wouldn't get killed by someone without a fight. I also wondered what became of the criminals that chased us... did they get caught and arrested by the police again? I hope so, because I don't want to know that any people got killed because of Merhea and me.

"Maria?" I heard knocking coming from the door of the fitting room I was in, "Are you done yet?" I realized it was Amy.

I quickly put my regular clothes back on as I came out meeting Amy, "Ah, yeah, sorry about that."

"It's all right," Amy said as she looked up at me.

Speaking of size... I remembered when I compared my height to Sonic, he was barely over half my height! Amy and Tails are around Merhea's height, and they're slightly shorter than Sonic himself. Then again, I shouldn't find that surprising. I mean, there are numerous sources showing Sonic (and it's been confirmed officially) that he's one hundred centimeters (100 cm) tall, that's a little less than three and a half feet (three feet and three inches to be exact). Man, I feel like a _giant_ compared to Sonic and friends. I mean, they're all heroes (or anti-heroes if you count Shadow, Rouge, or Omega), and heros are usually taller than most humans. I guess SEGA must've decided to create Sonic and friends (except for Big the Cat, Vector the Crocodile, and Omega) as the heroes in the "unusually small" list; I can respect that, I mean, I like unusual heroes.

"So uh... Amy," I was getting a little nervous for an unknown reason, then I remembered, "Are you sure you'll be able to _pay_ for all of this?"

"Of course!" Amy smiled at me, "Everything here is sixty percent off, and I have more than enough money on my gift card here," she then pulled out a card from what seemed to be out of _thin air_. I did want to ask her how she's been able to do that, but somehow, I was too _scared_ to do so. Maybe it's because that I didn't want to get hit by her Piko Piko Hammer that she keeps with her somehow... I mean, come on! She's pulls that thing _out of _**_thin_**_ air_! It's long broken the laws of _hammerspace_!

"Um... Okay..." I said nervously.

After a few minutes of waiting, both Amy and I had arrived to the check out desk. The clerk there, who was a normal human man, did give me a weird look. I looked at the thing he was looking at, I then realized that he saw the patch up on the side of my t-shirt that Vanilla did for me. Embarrassed, I quickly put my hand over the patch; thankfully, the clerk seemed to have pushed aside the thought as he began to scan the barcodes on the price tags. The clerk told Amy what the price was (which, true to Amy's word, the price was really low), which in response she handed him the gift card. After a few seconds, the price was paid. I was given the bags containing my set of clothes while Amy held on the bags containing Merhea's set and some new dresses that Amy bought for herself.

"So Maria, mind if I ask you a question?" Amy gave me a smile as we left the mall.

"Uh... it depends," I said as we walked towards the direction of Amy's house. None of the Sonic characters owned a car (unless you count the Tornado plane that Sonic and Tails have that can turn into a car-like machine), but that didn't bother me at all. Since Amy's house was close to the mall by a few blocks, we could easily go to the mall and back to the homes of either Vanilla and Cream's, or in Amy's home.

"Do you have a boyfriend in the world you're from?" Amy asked.

"Eh... a boyfriend?" I raised my brow at Amy, "Nah, I never desired a love interest. I prefer to stay single anyway."

"How come? I already have Sonic as my boyfriend," Amy said. Sonic as her boyfriend? Yeah right...

"Um... don't you mean... you're Sonic's... _self_-appointed girlfriend?" I corrected.

"No, I'm not!" Amy seemed a little angry at that.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" I said in order to defend myself, "Just don't hit me..."

"It's okay, I guess I was overreacting" Amy said as we arrived at her house.

"Huh?" I was confused, aren't we supposed to go to Vanilla's house?"

"Both Vanilla and Cream left to the grocery store, they won't be back sometime before dinner," Amy explained, "It's only 4:30, so we're gonna have to wait an hour, I think..."

"Oh," was all I said as Amy unlocked her front door.

The inside of her house wasn't that much, since it was just the average two-story building. Still, I wondered... how can a twelve year old person even afford a house? Maybe she shares the same bank account with Sonic or Tails or... something... I don't know. Well, it didn't matter to me now, because otherwise I wouldn't even have a place to stay in this world. Speaking of places to stay, I wonder if Merhea found a place to stay as Sonic and friends were looking for her? I wonder if she's still okay...

...

Sonic looked for Maria's younger sister for hours, he did ask a few if they've seen her as he showed them a copy of their photo, but none of them had any clue of where Merhea may be. Right now he was in the middle of Station Square, with these many people here, Sonic doubted that this Merhea girl is even here. But he then remembered his promise to Maria, he promised her that he would help find her younger sister, no matter what. Sonic vowed to himself that he will always keep the promises he makes... except for those dates with Amy, he never promises that. Since he can't stand getting hit by Amy's Piko Piko Hammer or getting glomped by her (as in a tackle hug, Amy is known to do that a lot), Sonic considered those two traits from Amy as annoyances in his opinion. Thankfully, Maria seems to understand Sonic's point of view, so he won't have to worry about her doing things that will annoy him. Well... maybe except saying those weird jokes she has. Oh well, everyone has a different sense of humor, so that doesn't bother him much.

Sonic then looked up at the clock tower that was located in the center of town, it read 5:45 in the evening. Since Vanilla's house was close by, Sonic decided to check on Maria to see how she's been adapting to Vanilla's household. Still, he found it a little odd that she was from another world; then again, he's been to other worlds or dimensions if you count his times with Blaze the Cat. So... he guessed he shouldn't find the fact that Maria was from another world that surprising. Without any more thoughts going through his mind, he ran over to Vanilla's house within seconds.

"Hello?" Sonic quietly knocked the door, "Vanilla, you home?"

Cream then opened the door, "Hi, Sonic," Cream said with her usual sweet voice, accompanied by Cheese, "Chao Chao."

"Oh yeah, hi. Um..." Sonic thought up a question, "Is Maria doing okay in your house?"

"She's doing fine," Cream said, "Right now, Amy's talking to her."

"Okay, because... I need to ask her a question," Sonic said simply as he was let in the house by Cream. Sonic knew better than to run inside Cream's house, he usually walks instead whenever he's in someone's house so that way he won't indirectly break something. Reaching up the stairway that led to a guest bedroom, he heard a few voices that were familiar, which turned out to be Maria and Amy's. He isn't the type to eavesdrop on someone, but the subject that the girls were talking about caught his attention. With the door slightly open, he was able to hear everything loud and clear. To prevent making any noise, Sonic sat in the floor against the wall as he listened.

"So... Sonic's one of your best friends, right?" Sonic heard Maria say.

"Yeah," Amy said, "I've known him for a long time."

"Knowing Sonic from the times I've seen and talked to him, he does seem to do reckless things," Maria said as she laughed a little, "Of course, I bet that just the way he is, a little daredevil always running around for adventure," that comment made Sonic smirk a little.

"Not really a daredevil, but Sonic does make me worry a _lot_ about him," Amy said as it caught Sonic's attention even more, "Even so... he never tells me about the kind of trouble he has to go through in order to do his usual heroic-like things whenever he battles Eggman or anything in particular. Maybe if were close like family... he would tell me about his troubles..."

Sonic then heard silence, he didn't expect Amy to be like that at all. Mostly because he gets irritated by her Piko Piko Hammer and the glomps she does on him whenever she gets the chance. He didn't hear anything from neither Maria nor Amy for what seemed to be hours, which were actually minutes. He was about to leave until he heard Maria say something...

"I don't think that it's not that Sonic didn't _want_ to tell you anything, I think that he thinks that for him, there was no _need_ to tell you."

"What do you mean?" Amy asked. Sonic was rather curious on what Maria was going to say, since her words caught Sonic's attention. He wondered... how much does Maria understand about him?

"What I mean is..." Sonic heard Maria take a deep breath, "That he must have assumed that you would understand him without him having to explain everything."

"There are times when they need to be _told_ for me or anyone else to understand..."

"Ahahaha..." Maria seemed to laugh a little, "That's just the way it is. From what I've experienced, men would rather speak or express themselves through their _actions_ than their _words_. As far as I'm guessing... I think that Sonic would rather shoulder the burden on his own shoulders... than cause any of his friends or loved ones or... anyone in particular to worry about him, I bet that's why he won't say anything about it. Just remember, when Sonic is ready to tell anyone about any of his troubles... **that's** when you need to be there for him. In the process, you can't do any unnecessary actions that would make him not to say anything, all you can do is just stay quiet and listen. Even if you can't understand any of his troubles, I know that Sonic will be happy to know that someone will always be there for him."

"How do you know all of this, Maria?" Amy asked.

"I know from experience, Amy," Maria said, "Not only that, my mother gave me some of this advice before she was killed by a house fire alongside my father two years ago."

"But still..." Amy muttered, which made Sonic wonder what she was thinking, "Even though I've always been there... how come Sonic never expressed any feelings towards me?" that question caused Sonic to raise a brow.

"That's one of the things that cannot be tampered with: love and emotion," Maria said, "He's like me in a way," Sonic's ears perked up at that.

"He is? How so?" Amy seemed to have a surprised tone in her voice. Sonic then thought about... what did Maria mean by that?

"Back at home..." Maria took a deep breath again, "I know a few boys that I have taken interest in, but... I swore and vowed to myself that I would never give my heart to anyone until I know I'm ready. That's why I desired no love interest right now, because I feel I'm not ready for one. Who knows? There may be a chance that I will never know when I am ready. The same thing applies to Sonic, I bet. I think it's safe for me to say that Sonic will only give his heart when he thinks he ready; if he's not ready, then he's not," Maria paused for a moment, "Just remember... that you cannot force him to do anything. Knowing Sonic, he prefers living with freedom and adventure in his life. If Sonic was forced to be with you, that would take away his happiness for freedom, both physically and psychologically. You can't force him... to do anything, Amy, all you can do is just wait for him when he's ready to give his heart to anyone... You'll have to accept him the way he is, even if he ever becomes something else..."

"...I see..." Amy seemed to take Maria's words into her mind.

"Well, come on," Maria said, "I'm pretty sure that Vanilla could use a helping hand on her cooking."

Knowing that the conversation had ended, Sonic quickly got up from the floor and fast-walked downstairs while pretending that he didn't hear anything. Thankfully, Vanilla and Cream didn't seem to notice Sonic leaving downstairs.

...

I hope that the advice I gave to Amy would make her cut down on her attempts of chasing Sonic, because eventually... that upcoming game called _Sonic Unleashed_... would involve Sonic turning into a werewolf or a werehog (most likely a werehog). It's most likely that Sonic won't tell anyone about him becoming a werehog in that upcoming game when he goes out to restore the Chaos Emeralds back to normal... Well... if Amy or anyone finds out about that, they'll have to put their hearts to the test. I still doubt that Amy might accept Sonic if she ever finds out about the werehog thing. I think it's safe to say that sometime during that game of _Sonic Unleashed_, Amy and friends might catch Sonic and then somehow witness him becoming a werehog as soon as the sun goes down. I wonder... I know that Sonic might be able to keep his mind whenever he's in that form... but will he be able to speak normally? Man, if only I had gotten here in Sonic's world **_after_** that game had been released, then I wouldn't have to worry as much. Since I'm in the video game universe... I know that the events of _Sonic Unleashed_ will eventually happen; even so, I can't help but worry a little about him, whether the game was released or not. Well... there's nothing I can do about that right now... Oh well... Thankfully, none of that has happened yet...

I pushed aside my thoughts as I followed Amy downstairs, I did see something blue moving around downstairs, but I didn't pay much attention to it. I did smell something that seemed good coming from the kitchen, but I never had much of an appetite for food throughout my daily life. Sure, I am a good cook myself, but I hardly ever eat everything I make in one helping...

I then suddenly felt my chest beginning to ache, but I didn't say a word because I didn't want Amy, Sonic, or anyone else to worry about me. I noticed Vanilla and Cream cooking something as I came close to the kitchen's entrance. I did want to ask Vanilla if she had any medicine that could stop chest pains, but I doubt that any of the medicines that they have would go well with my body system. Instead, I was left with no choice but to bear with the pain in my chest... Oddly... it was aching in the same spot when I got either shot or stabbed by that light. Could that light have anything to do with this...?

"Urk...!"

The pain in my chest became so severe that I couldn't either move or cry out, all I did was stand there motionless as I gripped on my chest in an attempt to endure the pain. I noticed that I was trembling a little, but since I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything about it. I would've screamed out in pain, but my voice box wouldn't cooperate... I would have felt a lot better if I could scream though... because I can barely breathe...

"Maria?" I noticed Sonic stepping up next to me, "Are you okay?"

I slowly shook my head in response, "...Ah... Eh... Uh..." random sounds came coming out of my throat, which caused Sonic to look at me in concern.

"Hey... You all right...?" I knew Sonic was unsure what was wrong with me, but I'm sure that he knew that it couldn't be good.

I was about to motion Sonic into getting Vanilla, but apparently... my body beat me to it as I felt a painful thump coming from within my heart...

"**_GUH-HUH!_**" I quickly put my hand across my mouth as I gave out sickening coughs, which caught the attention of everyone in the house, which were Sonic, Amy, Vanilla, Cream, and their Chao named Cheese. When I was miraculously able to breathe, I slowly pulled away my hand and looked at it... and I saw blood again... Before I knew it, I collapsed to my knees as I coughed up blood again. I put my already bloodied hand across my mouth in an attempt to prevent any blood from hitting the cold, hard floor. Unfortunately, it wasn't working as blood seeped through my fingers...

"Oh no!" Vanilla placed a cold washcloth against my mouth which, thankfully, made my face feel a little better, "This wasn't supposed to happen!" Vanilla then turned to Amy, "Amy! Call a doctor, hurry!"

As Amy turned in order to reach the phone, a humongous tremor was then felt, nearly knocking everyone except Cheese (because he's always hovering) off their feet.

"Aw great... What now?!" Sonic then opened the door leading outside and saw a large octopus-like robot causing terror in the street, he then saw a familiar marking, "Eggman!"

"Eggman?!" Cream became scared, "If Eggman is around... then we won't be able to get Maria to a doctor..."

"I'm going to go stop him," Sonic said, "Amy, you call the hospital for a doctor. Cream and Vanilla, look after Maria," with that said, I then saw Sonic run off.

I can barely believe this... why am I feeling so much pain? Am I going to die? No... _I can't die_... **I mustn't die!** Merhea needs me... I need to know that she's safe... if she's not... then I... then I won't know what to do... Did that arrow of light... caused some internal damage within my heart? I was sure that my heart was close to bursting, because it felt like that my heart was a somewhat heavy stone... Somehow... oddly... my heart felt like as if... as if it's _reacting_ to something... but what?

"I managed to call a doctor," I heard Amy say, "She said she'll be here as soon as she can!"

Vanilla took off my glasses as she cleaned of the blood that was stained around my mouth, I was about to thank Vanilla and the other for caring about me, but... suddenly... I blacked out as my body rushed out of the house, leading me outside... as if it were _reacting_ or being _attracted_ to something...

...

"Maria!" Vanilla tried to call her back, but she ignored her.

Sonic had difficulty dodging the tentacles of the robot that Eggman made, he knew that something made it stronger, but he wasn't sure what. Sonic also wondered... what is Eggman up to?

"Hahaha!" Eggman laughed as he watched Sonic, "You'll never defeat my newest creation... Since it's been powered by two Chaos Emeralds!"

_Chaos Emeralds?! Since when did Eggman find them?!_ was all Sonic could think about, _I've gotta destroy this thing before the doctor arrives..._

...

"Look, Shadow! Over there!"

Shadow looked at the direction Rouge was pointing at, not surprisingly, he saw one of Eggman's robots causing destruction near a residential area of Station Square.

Merhea was getting a little nervous, even though she was aware that Rouge and Shadow (though mostly Rouge) was kind enough to take things slow in order for Merhea to be comfortable around them, she still couldn't help but shake at the odd feeling... that her older sister is nearby...

"Big Sis is... near...?" Merhea barely uttered from her mouth. However, neither Shadow nor Rouge heard what she said.

"We better destroy that robot," Rouge then prepared to take flight, "We can't let Eggman cause too much damage."

"Agreed," Shadow said. Without wasting time, Shadow picked up Merhea and ran off towards the direction of the Eggman robot, with Rouge following behind him once again. After navigating through some of the rubble that Eggman caused, the three of them eventually made it to Eggman's robot as they saw Sonic trying to defeat it.

"Maria! Get out of there!" they heard Sonic yell out.

Shadow slightly froze as soon as the name "Maria" rang into his ears. He quickly turned to the direction of where Sonic was yelling at, but all he saw was a teenage brunette girl of sixteen... It can't be... there's no way that she's Maria Robotnik... is she...?

"Big Sis!" Merhea screamed in an attempt of catching Maria's attention. Unfortunately, Maria seemed to have ignored anyone's calling.

"You're Maria's younger sister?" Sonic asked as he arrived of what seemed to be out of nowhere, he then noticed Shadow and Rouge, "What are two doing here?" Unfortunately, neither Shadow nor Rouge could answer the question as they were cut of by Eggman's voice.

Eggman paid no attention to Maria at all, as he then pulled out some sort of remote control with a big... shiny red button... "Now I will increase my robot's power with this!" he pressed the trigger, which caused the octopus-robot to radiate even more energy and power. It seemed to have caused something else, though, since everything around them was cut short as a loud ear-piercing scream was heard.

"Big Sis!!" Merhea yelled out with worry in her voice.

Everyone, even Eggman, stayed a safe distance away from Maria. She slowly stood up to her feet as a glowing light blue diamond-shape appeared on her chest, the veins on her left arm began to glow as it grew larger and was slowly but quickly turning into crystal. Her screaming turned into roars as she roared in pain; _literally_... she was starting to roar like a monster. As she roared in pain, two crystalline spikes slowly jutted out of the back of her shoulders as her legs became more muscular as they turned into crystal. The right side of her face had turned to crystal, revealing the blood red eye with a black cross-shaped pupil within. Her hair had become a light crystal blue from the middle of her hair to the bottom, her roars from her gaping mouth revealed her teeth turning into crystalline fangs...

"Wha... What in the world...?" Sonic couldn't believe his eyes. Not even Shadow, Rouge, Merhea, Amy, Vanilla, Cream, Cheese... or even Eggman can hardly believe the events that had just happened to Maria just now.

"B... Big Sis...?" Merhea was trembling...

Maria roared not only in pain, but in anger, sadness, and any other negative emotion was contained in her roars. Sonic confirmed to himself that somehow... Maria had lost her mind... but what caused it?

"W... What is this?!" Eggman was shocked at Maria's sudden transformation, "A monster?!"

"Maria..." Sonic couldn't even think up what words to use, "has turned..."

He then saw the insane Maria charging at both Eggman and Sonic with Rouge, Shadow, and Merhea... with her crystalline fangs showing...

"She's turned into a Crystal Golem..." Sonic muttered.

She then unleashed her rampage...

...

**(End of the Fourth Crystal)**

...

**Authoress' Notes:** I was having trouble on where I should make this Crystal end, but... I think this seemed suitable. Not only that, it left a cliffhanger! I find cliffhangers bringing in suspense, don't you think?

**References:** Merhea doesn't know much about survival skills, but she's always willing to do anything in order to be with her sister Maria again. The main reason why Maria's name was not mentioned in her view until near the end was because neither Shadow nor Rouge had any idea on what Maria's name may be.

Rouge the Bat has sensitive hearing, which is the reason why she can hear Merhea's screaming from a distance. However, this is also one of her weaknesses; if a really loud noise (like the sound the dog whistle makes or anything similar) was triggered, Rouge would be on her knees as she will try to block out the noise. It has been speculated by some that Rouge is just a simple fruit bat (if you choose to get technical), this is because most (if not all) species of vampire bats have pig-like faces on them. It's been speculated by others that she may be a vampire bat is because she has been depicted to have sharp teeth (or fangs), whether Rouge is either a fruit bat or a vampire bat is still under debate (though I have nothing to say about this).

Amy's ability to pull out her Piko Piko Hammer out of thin air has something to do with something called "hammerspace," most of this is used in Japanese comedy. Just so you know. the Piko Piko Hammer that Amy has was based off of a popular Japanese toy of the same name. When you make the hammer hit something, it will make a "piko" or "squeak" sound. In the fairs in America (they're like miniature amusement parks, I don't know if they're worldwide, though they should be), inflatable hammers that are sometimes given away as prizes usually act like Amy's Piko Piko Hammer. Amy's hammer is also called a "squeaky hammer" or simply "toy hammer" in some countries (though I'm not sure which). The only thing I'm wondering is why the heck has any of the other characters (especially Sonic) had not asked Amy on how she's been able to pull her hammer out of thin air?!

Shadow the Hedgehog became a GUN agent after the events of his own game, _Shadow the Hedgehog_. Because of this, he usually does his duty as a fellow GUN agent alongside Rouge the Bat, mostly because she guides him to a correct path (despite the fact that Shadow chooses his own path). He usually does what Rouge asks whenever they're in missions, as Rouge does the same. E-123 Omega (or simply Omega; technically, it's E-123 Ω; or simply Omega) will not make an appearance until later in the story.

The advice Maria gives to Amy was actual info given by professional counselors, the reason why I know most of this is because I know a few counselors myself. I was never one of their patients, but I did overhear them say these things as I was studying psychology.

The part that had Eggman saying that he had created a robot powered by two Chaos Emeralds was a reference on on of the early episodes of Sonic X (I forgot which one, though), Eggman had created the same thing (though it was a completely different robot). You might want to watch that episode in order to get what I mean. Even though I like the character designs on Sonic X the best, they could've done a better storyline or adaption of the seasons they appear in (TV seasons do not exist in Japan), that's my only critic.

The transformation that Maria went through was suppose to be extremely painful, which caused her to lose her mind. It has been speculated by psychologists that people go insane if they're writhing in pain from the inside (it doesn't matter of it's physical or psychological). The fanfic title mention a "Crystal Golem," which in this case, it's Maria. When one loses his or her mind, they are unable to control their actions.

Maria never said anything about them being in any of the media in the real world because she didn't want Sonic or anyone in particular to be traumatized about the fact that they're video game characters. It's exactly like that episode in "Fairly Oddparents" when the Crimson Chin found out that he was a comic book character (I forgot which episode, though). I find it a little cliche about the trend about people getting into whichever Sonic universe that's there, and then suddenly mention about them being whatever media they're in. So I decided not to make Maria say anything about it out loud, instead, she'll speak it into her mind only.

_Sonic Unleashed_ is an upcoming video game set for release sometime around November 2008, a lot of stuff about Sonic's "Werehog" form has been revealed (as in how the Werehog is played in the game). Maria has known about the game ever since it was first mentioned; however, since the game wasn't released yet, she does not know anything about the games plot (though she does know what will happen in the beginning). Just so you know, another Sonic game has just recently been announced under development. It's called "_Sonic and the Dark Knight._" It's suppose to be the second spinoff game after _Sonic and the Secret Rings_, like _Sonic and the Secret Rings_, _Sonic and the Dark Knight_ is said to be a Wii exclusive (I'm pretty sure that SEGA will change the control scheme for this one). I have a Wii, so I know that I will definitely get both _Sonic Unleashed_ and _Sonic and the Dark Knight_ once they come out in stores over here in America.

...

If you like this, leave me your opinion in your review. Feel free to spread the word of this story, I made this mostly because this site lacks fanfics that have long chapters in the Sonic category... I think...

Oh yeah, almost forgot... I usually edit the fanfic a little bit in order to correct punctuation errors and whatnot. So, if you find anything different about it, I may have already either edited, added, or corrected it. I only do this just to make the story look better for you all to read; afterall, one error can cause some problems on serious readers (if they ever read these of course).


	5. A Crystal Golem

My thanks for the two reviews, I'm pleased that you like this story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog and friends, they belong rightfully to SEGA. Only Maria and Merhea Robotnik belong to me.

The Fifth Crystal shows random quirks for the Robotnik sisters, and yes, this happens to them a _lot_.

...

**The Fifth Crystal: A Crystal Golem**

...

"Watch out!"

Sonic dragged the wrists of both Rouge and Shadow with a little girl still in Shadow arms out of the way before Maria landed a large swing of her crystallized arm against the asphalt. She let out a roar of frustration as she lifted her arm in an attempt to to attack someone again, the closest target was the giant robot close to her. Letting out another roar of anger, she slashed off two of the robot's many tentacles. She continued slashing off parts of the robot's armor as the robot made feeble attempts of escaping from her clawed clutches, parts of the octopus-shaped robot were sent flying until it suddenly stopped moving...

"Oh... man..." Sonic let out a few breaths of relief when he realized that Maria went after Eggman's robot instead, he turned to Shadow and Rouge next to him. Rouge had her face full of shock as she watched Maria continued tearing the robot apart. As for Shadow, he kept holding on to the little girl protectively as he carefully watched out for any sudden movements that Maria might make. As for Eggman, after he saw Maria tearing his robot apart, he fled for his life, forgetting about the two Chaos Emeralds inside of the robot.

"W... What in the...?" Rouge could hardly believe her eyes, "What just happened...?"

"Big Sis..." Merhea barely muttered anything as she shook in fear.

"Wait a second..." Sonic examined the little girl's face, he then noticed dirty blond tips on the bottom of her hair, "You're Merhea... aren't you?"

Merhea nodded in response, "What happened... what happened to Big Sis...?"

"I don't know," Sonic then became serious as he held on to Merhea's hand, "But don't worry, I promise that I'll find a way to get your sister back."

"R... Really...?" Merhea almost seemed to be on the verge of crying.

"I promise," Sonic then took Merhea out of Shadow's arms and handed her over to Rouge, "Rouge, you look after Merhea, and tell Amy and the others to call Tails and Knuckles. Shadow, you help me find a way to bring Maria under control until Tails and Knuckles arrive," with that said, Sonic ran over to Maria, but kept a close but somewhat safe distance from Maria's rampage.

"Be careful with her," Shadow said to Rouge before he followed Sonic towards the rampaging Maria, thankfully, she was only concentrating on Eggman's robot.

Rouge said nothing else as she quickly ran over to Vanilla's house with Merhea along with her backpack in Rouge's arms. She put Merhea down and gave her back her backpack as she explained what Sonic and Shadow were planning to do, Vanilla looked incredibly worried as Cream tried to talk to Merhea. Despite Cream's best attempt into trying to get Merhea talking, all Merhea did was watch her older sister becoming more and more of a monster... Roars of fury was unleashed from her sister's monstrous form as she began to slash at random targets, from the remains of the robot that Eggman made to the debris that Eggman's robot had caused. Merhea could only watch as Sonic and Shadow were trying to advert Maria's attention from rampaging around the already defunct robot.

...

"Any ideas on how to stop her Shadow?"

Sonic had a worried look on his face as he quickly glanced at Shadow and then back at Maria, then noticed that she was roaring not only in anger, but in paralyzing pain... She suddenly spotted Sonic and Shadow as her body then radiated a strange kind of aura and charged at both of the hedgehogs.

"To be honest... I have no idea!" Shadow barely had time to finish his sentence as both he and Sonic had barely avoided being crushed by Maria's giant crystallized clawed hand. Her claws dug into the asphalt, which seemed to be fortunate for the hedgehogs, since it caused her to be immobile for the time being. Shadow looked at Maria again, since he was able to get a clear look of her in her normal, human form... despite her long brown hair, this Maria resembled the Maria Robotnik he once knew over fifty years ago, despite her being in that monster form...

"Man..." Sonic desperately tried to think of something, "When will she reach her limit like last time...?" What Sonic meant by that was during the time he first met her when she was in that form; during that time, she went back to normal when her body had reached her limit. Sonic also noticed that she had more crystallized parts the last time he saw her in that form. The last time he saw her in that form, she only had her left arm and the right side of her face crystallized... now her legs, torso, and even her teeth had become crystallized. He shuddered at the thought of her entire body being crystallized if this ever happens again... for if it did, what would become of her then...?

"I got it!" Shadow suddenly thought up of an idea.

"What, what is it?!" Sonic then became a little eager as both he and Sonic raced away from Maria for a few seconds.

"We need to get the two Chaos Emeralds from inside Eggman's robot," Shadow said as he looked at Maria from a safe distance. Oddly, she didn't try to attack, "She might calm down if we're able to get one of the Emeralds into contact with her."

"And if it doesn't work?" Sonic asked.

"Then I've got no idea," were Shadow's last words before he raced over to the remains of Eggman's robot and rummaged through it for a moment. He then felt something as he took out a yellow diamond-shaped jewel, a yellow Chaos Emerald. Now he had to find the other one, he began looking through random parts of the robot again until...

"Shadow! Watch out!"

Hearing Rouge's calling, Shadow immediately leapt out of the way, barely avoiding Shadow by inches. He then raced over to Sonic as he handed him the yellow Emerald.

"You get the other Emerald, I'll keep her busy!" Shadow then ran off.

"Got it..." Sonic said to himself as he ran over to the remains of Eggman's robots within a split second. He quickly checked piles of parts after parts until he found something sparkle under what seemed to be a muffler, he placed his under it and found what he was looking for. It was a white-grey Chaos Emerald in the palm of Sonic's hand, "All right! Found it!"

"**_KUH!!_**"

Sonic turned and saw Shadow grunting in pain as he was hit by one of Maria's claws and landed near Sonic. Sonic could barely see a large tear on the bandages on Shadow's left arm, as it had slightly reopened a wound that Shadow obtained when he was imprisoned by Eggman earlier.

"You all right, Shadow?" Sonic lifted Shadow to his feet.

"Just get the Emeralds to her...!" Shadow grimaced in pain as he spoke, "Don't worry about me..."

"Gotcha," Sonic nodded in response as he took Shadow over to Vanilla and the others, in order for her and Rouge to tend to Shadow's wound.

Sonic turned his attention back to Maria, right now she was randomly rampaging around random pieces of debris as she was roaring in pain along with any other negative emotion. Hearing her cries of pain saddened Sonic somewhat, since he felt bad on what Maria was forced to go through. From the times she first talked to him, and when he overheard her conversation with Amy shortly before this happened... she never deserved any of this pain... especially since she's going through that undeserved pain in front of her little sister... Sonic then shook the thought away from his head as he avoided another attempted slash from Maria's crystallized hand, this time it caused her hand to become partially buried, giving her more difficulty as her rampaging form tried to pull her crystallized clawed hand out of the asphalt. Sonic then saw this moment as his chance, wasting no time, he quickly grabbed her regular right arm as he held on to the two Chaos Emeralds with his other hand.

"Maria, snap out of this! Please!" Sonic said in a serious but somewhat pleading tone.

She only glared at him, her crimson eye with the cross-shaped black pupil and sclera had a gaze that could've pierced into Sonic's mind. However, her left eye... her regular gentle emerald-green eye widened for a split second in surprise as it looked into the direction of Vanilla's house, "Get... away... She's... calling... for me..." Sonic's mind then snapped to what seemed to be realization, he quickly turned his attention to the direction Maria had her attention on. He quickly noticed Merhea crying as Vanilla tried to comfort her. Sonic then realized... was Merhea crying for her sister...?

'_Wait..._' Sonic thought, '_Is that... really her??_' he then argued with himself in his mind, '_Is she somehow... still in control of her own actions?!_'

He then had nothing else to lose. Without thinking properly, he slammed the two Chaos Emeralds in his right hand against her crystallized arm as he maintained his grip on her right arm.

"Hey, Maria!! Can you hear me?! It's me, Sonic! Your friend! _Maria!!_"

...

Calling...?

I've been seeing a familiar image... a small one... of a blue person... I felt a somewhat soothing... pain...? In my left arm...

Who is it...? Don't keep me away from her... she's calling for me... Wait... who was calling for me...?

I have to help her... Wait... what...?

_I have to help her... What...?_

**I have to help her... Yes... her...**

**_I have to help her!! Wait! Who am I trying to help?!_**

"You will not stop me!"

As I yelled out in pain... this time... I yelled out in pain with determination... I can't let my body go into another rampage... I can feel it already as I felt my arms thrashing away from the soothing hand that had its grip on my right arm... My mind was still in this... dark void...

...

"Maria! Don't you recognize me?!" Sonic cried out as he jumped away from Maria's crystallized arm as she was able to pull her arm away from Sonic's grip.

He then noticed as Maria had her right hand on her head as she was shaking her head over something. She muttered out random words... "Get away... Move away... Calling... She's calling... for me... I have to help her... Wait... Who is... who is calling...?"

_'She's trying to struggle against her actions?!'_ Sonic then clearly thought out the words she was speaking, '_Then she must've heard me!_' He then managed to grab Maria's right arm again as he barely avoided Maria's clawed hand, "Maria! Can you hear me?! Answer me!!"

...

"**_MARIA!!_**"

What's... going on...? I remember... Vanilla helping me, right...? And then... and then... after that...

Someone was... calling for my name... Someone was... shouting for me...

I then saw an image of a... monstrous human form in front of me... it seemed to be... struggling... I was struggling... was that thing... me...?

"Who...?" I barely uttered anything from my mouth in this dark void...

"Don't worry, I promise," a familiar voice rang out as I then saw a familiar gloved hand in front of my face. I then instantly recognized who it was...

"Sonic..."

My body stopped struggling... visions then came back into my head... I then saw two diamond-shaped jewels against my crystallized arm. I then noticed that I had my right hand gripping one of Sonic's long quills on the back of his head...

...

"Hey, Maria... Have you opened your eyes yet?"

Both of Maria's eyes widened as she stared at Sonic. This time, it was a confused gaze instead of a mind-piercing one. Sonic then noticed her grip on one of his quills weakening as she let out random noises from her breaths of fatigue.

"U... wh... u... uh...?" Maria then blinked a few times, "S... Sonic...?"

"Heh heh... Hey..." Sonic gave out a small smirk, "Guess you recognize me now, eh?"

"Wha... uh...?" Maria's body then twitched sharply and abruptly as her left arm had returned to its normal size. However, her entire left arm was still a crystallized light blue, even her fingernails had become crystallized into what seemed to be tiny claws. Her legs no longer became muscular as it returned to it's normal shape, but it still kept it's crystallized state. The crystallized shoulder spikes on her back had disappeared without a trace. Miraculously, most of her old clothes weren't completely torn, the only damage that was actually noticeable was at least less than half of the left leg of her jeans being almost torn off.

"You feeling all right?" Sonic gave out a somewhat comforting smile at Maria.

"Heh..." Maria gave out one last smirk back at Sonic before she collapsed to the ground and passed out, making Sonic fall onto his back in relief.

"Sonic!" Sonic then heard a familiar girl's voice, he turned his head and saw Amy coming towards him, "Sonic, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Amy," Sonic said as he took a deep breath, "I'm just relieved that Maria's no longer in pain."

"What should we do with her now...?" Amy seemed concerned as she lifted Sonic to his feet, "I mean... we haven't even known her for a day and now... she's having to go through this..."

"I don't know, but..." Sonic then turned to Amy, "We can't let the doctor know about this..."

...

**...**

...

What...?

_What happened...?_

**What happened... to me...?**

**_What happened... to everyone...?_**

I opened my eyes and looked at my surroundings. I noticed a clock next to me, which read the time to be 8:47 p.m. I remember the last time I checked the time, it was around 6:24 p.m. I silently cursed at myself... was I out for that long? I then realized that I was inside the guest bedroom that Vanilla and Cream let me use in their house... I wonder... was I really dreaming about that entire... thing about me being a crystal monster? I then realized that I was laying on my bed, with some difficulty, I was able to sit up. I then noticed something that was being reflected at the mirror that was located on top of a piece of furniture in front of the bed a few feet away.

I stared at my reflection in horror...

My hair still had its natural red brown color, only from the middle to the bottom, my hair was a light crystal blue. The right side of my face was also crystal along with my right being a blood red, with difficulty I was able to tell that my red eye had a cross-shaped pupil with a black sclera; thankfully, my left eye was still its peaceful gentle emerald green color. I noticed my entire left arm in a crystallized state, even my fingernails had become into what seemed to be... tiny claws... I then lifted the bed sheets from myself as I noticed both of my legs being in the same state as my left arm, my toenails were like tiny little claws as well. I still had my old shirt on, the one I wore when I was shot by those three criminals). Not knowing about of what I may find on my torso, I took off my old t-shirt, exposing my black sports bra and saw that more than half of my upper torso had crystallized, leaving only the area around my stomach in its natural state. I noticed that the bandages around my stomach were changed, since they looked a little cleaner. The gunshot wound on my left side still ached a little, but... I think I can manage...

Thankfully, my right arm was just as regular as any other human arm. With a little difficulty, I was able to sit on the bed with my feet against the floor. Because my feet were crystallized, I couldn't feel the soft carpet beneath my feet. I then noticed that I had long black shorts on, huh, I guess Vanilla must've changed some of my clothing... I shuddered at the thought if any of the uh... _male_ characters did such a thing... Ugh... I don't want to think about it... I put my worn out t-shirt back on as I took a deep breath as I was lost in my own thoughts...

I tried to remember... who was calling for me? And why? And... who was she...? Was she...?

My thoughts were cut off as I heard the bedroom door open, I lifted my head a little as I noticed Vanilla the Rabbit coming in as she was holding what seemed to be a mug.

"Oh, you're awake!" Vanilla gave out a sigh of relief, "I'm so glad... You're okay..." She then sat down next to me as she handed me the mug, which was full of what seemed to be an warm herbal tea.

"What happened?" I asked to both myself and Vanilla as I let the soothing scent of the tea enter my system.

"Well... you see..." I listened to Vanilla's words as she told me what happened after I blacked out in front of her. Somehow, I had turned into this... Crystal Golem... and then went out on a murderous rampage against Eggman's robot. I was even stunned at the fact that I had actually tried to kill Sonic and Shadow when they were trying to help me, I could've sworn that I was about to break down when I was told that I had wounded Shadow somehow. Thankfully, Vanilla then told me that Sonic was somehow able to bring me back control of myself into the form I have now. She then told me that she had to tell the doctor that the emergency they had with the doctor was nothing more than a "prank call" that some crazy kid made (which made me laugh a little). After she finished explaining everything to me, I couldn't tell if I should be relieved or traumatized...

"You should drink your tea, Maria," Vanilla said, "It'll clear your head."

I did what Vanilla suggested and took a sip from the warm tea, and it was amazing. It gave out a soothing aroma as I drank a little more from it; thankfully, it did clear my head, true to Vanilla's words.

"By the way, Maria," Vanilla then caught my attention as I drank the last of my tea.

"Yeah?" I breathed out, since I didn't breath much when I was drinking my tea.

"We have a surprise for you," Vanilla then took my now empty mug as she chuckled.

"Uh... You uh... do...?" I asked. Usually, I don't either get or expect surprises, so this is new.

"Hmm hmm hmm," Vanilla chuckled again as she smiled at me, "We sure do, dear. We have good news for you."

"Good news as in...?" I waited for Vanilla to finish.

"Okay Sonic, you can let her in now," I heard Vanilla call out. Wait! '_Her?_' Then... that's means... they...!

A familiar little girl came running towards me...

"Big Sis!" she embraced me as I sat on my bed stunned.

"Merhea!"

I still sat there... stunned... I can't believe it... They actually found her! Just like Sonic promised!

"Merhea!" I embraced her happily as tears of joy leaked from my eyes, "I'm so glad... You're okay!"

"Ahahahaha!" Merhea laughed happily as she let go and looked at me in the face. I laughed with her as she took out a familiar object from my black parka that she was carrying with her, it was my blue ocarina...

"What...?" I gently took the ocarina from Merhea's hands.

"You never finished the song back at the schoolgrounds, Big Sis." Merhea said, "But you can finish it later," Merhea then giggled, "Miss Vanilla said that you needed rest."

I smiled at Merhea as I put the ocarina next to me on my bed as I embraced her again, "I'm okay now Merhea, now that I know that you're safe."

"Isn't this great?" I heard Amy say, I looked up and saw Amy with Sonic at the bedroom door, "Everything's back to normal now."

"Not quite," Sonic said as he walked over to me, he then gently grabbed my left arm and said, "We still don't know how to turn Maria back to normal," he then turned to me, "By the way, how do you feel right now?"

"I'm fine, to be honest..." I said. I find this odd though, because even though I feel fine, somehow... I feel... stronger and more agile, but I couldn't explain the full details in my mind, "But... I uh..."

"Something wrong, Big Sis?" Merhea asked as she looked up at me.

"I'm fine, but..." I tried to think up the proper words, "Somehow, I feel... stronger and more agile, I really don't know..."

"By the way, Big Sis," Merhea said as she gently pointed at my face, "Can't you see without your glasses? Normally you can't even tell that I'm here without them."

That made me realize something as I gently touched my face with my right hand, somehow, even though I don't have my glasses on... Somehow, I can see perfectly!

"You're right, Merhea, somehow..." a wry smile was on my face, "I can see clearly."

"Still... you might need them," Vanilla said as I looked at her, "I still have your spare pair of glasses, and I've sent your regular ones in for repair."

"Wait, since when did I break them?" I was confused, I was wearing my spare pair earlier?

"Since before we found you," Vanilla answered.

"Oh..." was all I said in response.

"By the way, Maria," I turned to Sonic, "We have a few friends you might need to introduce you and your sister to, don't worry, they're not gonna do anything stupid."

"Uh..." was all I could say.

...

Shadow didn't say anything as he was waiting in the living room for Sonic about something related to this Maria, next to him was Rouge the Bat. Even though Rouge didn't sport a concern for any of the two girls, the older one named Maria also caught her attention. Alongside them were Cream and Cheese playing with a few building blocks, Tails was also there watching Cream and Cheese as Knuckles simply stood against the wall. No one said anything as they waited for Sonic to return as he already went to take Merhea over to her older sister. Knuckles then broke the silence.

"This may seem a stupid question to ask but..." Knuckles then asked Rouge, "Why are you guys here?"

"I originally came here in order to mess around," Rouge said, "But after seeing that girl transform, I _know_ I would like to hear her story."

"I have no reason," was all Shadow said.

"Uh... Okay then..." Knuckles then tried to think up of something else, then thought of a question for Cream, "By the way, how was Maria before she uh... went on a rampage?"

"She was a really nice person," Cream said in a worried tone, "Who would've thought that she had to go through all of that..." Cream was then cut off by a familiar voice.

"Yo, guys! She's okay!" Sonic suddenly popped up behind Knuckles (which startled him a little).

"She is?" Cream seemed eager as Cheese chirped in excitement.

"Yep! Well..." Sonic then scratched his ear with his finger, "She still has some of her crystal features, but... at least she's regained her mind for now."

"So there's a chance that she might go on a rampage again?" Tails asked as his ears twitched a little.

"To be honest, I don't know, Tails," was all Sonic said in response. He was about to say something else before he and the others heard what seemed to have been a (comical?) conversation going on as Sonic and the others heard footsteps descending.

"So let me get this straight," they heard Maria say, "You woke up in a forest, found a really stupid robot that was about to kill you, and then you were saved by these guys called Shadow and Rouge?"

"Yes, Big Sis," they heard a little girl (which is Merhea) say, "After seeing Rouge, um... I really don't know what I should think of bats anymore..."

"Don't even go there, Merhea," Maria said as she opened the door that lead to the living that Sonic and the others were in, as she entered, both Merhea and Vanilla came out from behind her.

Shadow took a good look at Maria's features, she did bear some resemblance to Maria Robotnik, let alone sharing the same name. However, this Maria had different colored eyes and hair that was longer than Maria Robotnik's. She was also taller and a bit more athletic than Maria Robotnik as well, but somehow, she had something within her that beared some resemblance to Maria Robotnik, but what? She then noticed Cream and smirked a little as Cheese fluttered on top of her head, like before, Maria then rubbed Cheese's head which caused his pom-pom-like ball to turn into a heart.

"Ahaha! Hey there, Cheese," Maria laughed a little, "Good to see you're okay."

"So how are you feeling?" Cream asked Maria.

"Eh? How am I feeling? Hmm..." Maria then did a somewhat stupid-looking thinking pose, "How am I feeling...?" she said to herself in a comical manner, then did a 'That's it!' kind of pose, "Oh right, I remember! I'm feeling great!" after a few seconds, "...I think..."

"Big Sis, why are you making jokes at a time like this?" Merhea seemed a little flustered.

"Hey, you've done things that was more stupid that I have before, Merhea," Maria placed her hands on her hips as she smirked at Merhea, "Remember the time that you attacked the Easter Bunny in our school, only to later find out that it was the janitor in a costume?"

"Hey, you know the Easter Bunny scares me..." Merhea said as she looked away.

"Then I guess we're even now, heh heh heh," Maria laughed a little.

"What the heck is that weird girl talking about...?" Rouge asked out of nowhere just before she was suddenly hit by a round red sofa pillow that was thrown at her from what seemed to be out of nowhere.

"I'm sorry, **_Bat Girl_**," Sonic and the others then realized that Maria looked _incredibly_ ticked at something as she had a forced grin on her face, along with a vein popping up on her forehead, "But _what_ did you call me again?" were the words she spoke through her teeth.

"Uh... Big Sis... Don't do it..." Merhea seemed incredibly nervous, "You _know_ what happened to your previous victim..."

Sonic and the others gave out strange but somewhat concerned looks, not to mention Rouge had a bad feeling that something really weird and stupid was about to happen, she just wasn't sure what it was or when it will happen. Sonic wondered what Merhea meant by Maria's "previous victim." Whatever it means, judging by Maria's expression, he's about to find out right now... as Maria quickly pointed at Rouge, everyone could've sworn they heard a "**_ZING!_**" sound as she did so.

"You call me a moron?!" Maria said so quickly that it was hard to make out as she grabbed Rouge by the shoulders.

"Wha...?" Rouge was cut off by Maria again.

"A weirdo?!"

"I..."

"A crazy person?!"

"I never said any of that!" Rouge said in response.

"Big Sis! Rouge never meant to say that offensively..." Merhea groaned a little as she seemed a little flustered, "Now let go of her."

"Make me," Maria said as she somewhat roughly pushed Rouge back against the sofa for no reason.

"You just did it!" Merhea said.

"Exactly," was all Maria said and she crossed her arms for once again, no apparent reason.

"What...?" Merhea was now getting confused.

"And now since the both of are together again," Maria then calmed down to her normal self, apparently forgetting about the odd events that just happened, "I think we can properly introduce ourselves. Right, Merhea?"

"Yep!" Merhea nodded in response, also apparently forgetting the events just earlier.

"Wait... you mean you grabbed me for no reason?" Rouge asked as she rubbed her shoulders.

"When did I grab your shoulders?" Maria asked with a confused look.

"Don't tell you forgot again, Big Sis!" Merhea said, flustered.

"Forget what?" Maria said as she raised her eyebrow. Which, of course, caused everyone (except Shadow as he simply rose a brow) to have their mouths agape. Also, it caused Merhea to fall down anime style in disbelief.

"Ugh! Never mind..." Merhea said as she got up and slapped her head, "When was the last time you took your medicine?" Sonic rose his brow at that statement Merhea just made.

"For the last time, Merhea, I don't have a medication," Maria said, "And even if I did, I wouldn't even be taking it anyway. For all it actually does on me is that it makes me sleepy, not only that, I would throw up about an hour later. "

"...You didn't have to say the last part, Big Sis..." everyone could tell that Merhea looked disgusted.

"It's not my fault that my body system can't handle it, you know," Maria said.

"...Forget it..." was all Merhea said.

"Thank you," Maria said rather bluntly as she sat down on a nearby leather chair with a sigh, "Okay, um... I think we can properly introduce ourselves _this_ time, won't we?"

"Yes," Merhea said as she climbed on Maria's lap, "and this time we won't have any mishaps of whatsoever."

"You need to stop using big words, you're only six."

"Fine..."

"Are you still gonna continue arguing or what?" Sonic said as he tapped his foot. Both Maria and Merhea glanced at each other for a few seconds, then Maria gave out a somewhat evil smirk.

"Don't even think about it, Big Sis," was all Merhea said.

"Darn it..." Maria snickered a little.

Shadow now had doubts on this Maria here, for starters, she has a tendency to say strange things that make little to no sense. Second, she seems to have what seems to be a somewhat short-term memory, but he was unsure.

"Well, anyway, back to the original plot," Maria said for no reason, she then pointed to herself with her her thumb, "My name is Maria S. Robotnik, I'm the older sister out of the both of us."

"And I'm Merhea G. Robotnik, I'm the younger sister... and I like potatoes," Merhea said, which caused everyone to have either strange or amused looks on their faces.

"Merhea..." Maria said with her eyes narrowed, "That was... rather cliche... And besides, you hate potatoes."

"Hehehe, sorry," Merhea giggled, "I couldn't resist."

"What are your middle names then?" Cream then suddenly asked, which caused the others except Maria and Merhea to give her strange looks.

"Shadow," Maria said bluntly with no interest in her voice.

"Gerald," Merhea said in the same tone as her sister's.

Shadow then had a small chill go through his spine, that couldn't be right... She shares the same name as Maria Robotnik from the Space Colony ARK! Not only that, she also shares her middle name as Shadow himself! As for Merhea... she looks just like a younger version of her older sister, other than her dirty blonde tips on her hair. Also, she shared the same middle name as Professor Gerald Robotnik! He then remembered something about Maria's strange actions against Rouge... the person that possessed him when he was held prisoner at Doctor Eggman's base, she reacted the same way, and her name was Maria... could she be...?

"You are called Maria," Shadow said out loud, "Am I correct?"

"Huh?" Maria looked at Shadow with a surprised look in both her regular green and her red eyes, "Um... Yeah, I'm called Maria, my mother named me after her late great aunt..."

"I have one question to ask from you..." Shadow said as he crossed his arms. Sonic and the others looked at both Shadow and Maria as she was about to respond.

"Um... what is it?" Maria blinked a few times.

Shadow didn't say anything for a moment, with difficulty, he simply said, "Are you the one who helped me escape from Doctor Eggman's base?"

...

I blinked in surprise...

How did he know...? How did he find out...? Heh... Well... No point in hiding it anymore...

"Eh heh heh..." I gave out a dry chuckle, which caught the attention of everyone around me, including Shadow, "About time you found out..."

"So you're the one that helped him escape," Rouge said out of nowhere, " But... how were you able to possess him?"

"She possessed him?!" Tails seemed a little scared.

I sighed in response as I put my hand against my forehead, "Listen guys, I don't know how it happened myself... It happened while I was sleeping in the night before Merhea and I got here in this world..."

"You're from another world?" Rouge seemed surprised.

"I'll spare you the details for later on that..." I simply shook my head as I spoke, I then turned to Shadow, "How did you find out about me?"

"Your... strange actions... gave it away," Shadow said as his brow slightly twitched.

"Oh, right... Eh heh heh..." I gave out a nervous laugh, "I was hoping that I would break that Eggman's hip somehow..."

"If you didn't intend on possessing Shadow, then..." Knuckles trailed off, "Why did you help him?"

"Because I felt like it," I simply said, "And please, don't bug me about it anymore. I don't know what happened, all what I remember before that was me sleeping in my own bedroom and that's it."

"I did want to ask you something though," Amy said.

"...What is it?" I sighed.

"Were you like that in your world?" Amy asked as she gently pointed at my crystalline features.

"Um..." I tried to think what would be the proper answer, "To be honest, no..." I then sighed, "It's been like this ever since I woke up in what seemed to be... an alley in a city, I think...?" I scratched my head as I tried to remember. Wait a second... I just remembered... I do remember waking up in an alley, did I...?

"Speaking of alleys, Sonic," Knuckles then cut in, "Wasn't she in the alley where the energy spike was detected?"

"Come to think of it... you're right!" Sonic must've realized something, "What if she's the source of the energy?"

"Energy... what?" I was confused, what were they talking about? "I don't remember anything related to energy... Weren't you able to get a sample or something?"

"Unfortunately, no," Sonic said, "It disappeared just as quickly as it appeared."

"Were there any others?" I asked, surely they should know.

"There was a second one located in the Mystic Ruins jungle," Rouge said, "However, we didn't find anything there... except for your sister, of course."

"Uh... Hmm..." I placed my hand around my chin as I was deep in thought. Two energy spikes... one in an alley, and another one in a jungle... both of us were either in or near those locations... I then thought up of something... I then asked everyone around us, "Hey, this may seem a stupid question, but this might help us out. What color was the energy spike, wasn't anyone able to see it?"

"Well, according to witnesses..." Rouge took out a paper out of... thin air... again... Seriously, what the heck? "They say that it was a bright white."

"Bright white..." I thought up about the possibilities, then it hit me... I then turned to Merhea, "Merhea, shortly after we hid in the Sweet Lane, you said you spotted something, what was it?"

"Well..." Merhea tried to say the correct description, "It looked like a little white ball... like the ones that glow in the dark."

"What happened after it?" I asked, "This might give us a lead."

"That thing then..." Merhea paused for a moment, "...bursted or popped... with white light, then this... dark place came in..." Dark place... no way!

"Was there a large white ball of light in there, along with two smaller ones of a different color?"

"Yes... how did you...?" Merhea seemed surprised, I then noticed Sonic and the others carefully listening.

"I came across them myself," I said, however, I left out the part about me being either shot or stabbed by that cyan colored light, "What happened after that?"

"The white light then grew bigger and bigger and then... somehow, I was put to sleep," Merhea seemed a little embarrassed, "When I woke up I... I was inside a giant hollow tree inside a forest... or was it a jungle?"

"That could be it..." Tails said as he was thinking things through, "Maybe those white lights were the causes of those energy spikes! It may have signaled that you two somehow came here! That has to be it!"

"You may be right, Tails," Sonic realized, "I mean, it makes sense..."

"But if that the case... Then how will we get home?" Merhea then seemed to be on the verge of crying, "I want to see Lulubell and Lolita and... even Andy..."

Lulubell, Lolita, and Andy are our best friends back in our home world. Lulubell Toll was our next door neighbor, and she was the counterpart of Knuckles. Lolita Blackash wear black gothic lolita clothing (hence her name), she's slightly emotionally unstable, but thankfully we've been able to make good friends with her. Lolita is the counterpart of Shadow the Hedgehog in our home world. As for Andy Tulip... well, he's a strange one. He's the counterpart of Amy Rose, and like Amy chasing Sonic, Andy chases me. Of course, he's not planning on marrying me anytime soon, he only chases me because we find it pretty funny. Well... I then snapped out of my thoughts as I tried to answer Merhea's question.

"I don't know..." Great, just great. What do I do now? I'm somehow stuck in the Sonic video game universe with my sister by my side, and yet we have no way of knowing on how we will get home.

"I think we have a solution," Sonic then smirked at us.

"What do you mean?" I asked Sonic, wondering what was in his mind.

"We're gonna get you home with these babies," Sonic then took out two diamond-shaped jewels, one with a white-grey color and the other being yellow. No way! I can't believe it, those are Chaos Emeralds! Of course... it could be that we could use Chaos Control in order to get home! But... I can't act like I know of these things... As soon as Sonic showed the to Emeralds to me, I had a surprised look in my face as I felt some strange sensation coming from them.

"Uh..." I took a closer look at the beautiful Emeralds as I pretended that I didn't know anything about them, "Jewels? How can jewels get us home?" I then looked at Sonic waiting for an answer.

"These are called Chaos Emeralds, Maria," Sonic explained, even though I already know all known facts about those Emeralds, I didn't mind Sonic explaining it, "They contain a lot of power, and we can use these in order to get you and your sister home. However, we need to gather all seven of them in order for this to work."

"How many do you have now?" I asked.

"Just these two," Sonic said, "Since we already have two Emeralds, we just need to find five more."

"Where do you find them? Around the Earth or something?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"You got it," Sonic said with his trademark smirk.

"This may seem stupid, but... what happens if we gather all seven?" I was a bit unsure about what this answer may be.

"Numerous things," Sonic said, "Certain people such as myself can gain a Super Form for a short time, but that's another story. As what we're planning to do for you two, we're planning to use something called Chaos Control. It's a technique that allows you to teleport to another location, it can even send you to another time or space!"

"That's good to know but... is this Chaos Control even able to send us back to our home world?" I was **_very_** unsure about this one. For one thing, I'm in a video game universe, and I don't know if things related to video games can actually happen in the real world. Not only that, even if Chaos Control is able to get both Merhea and me back home, would I still keep these crystalline features? I shudder at the thought, I don't want to be taken away by scientists for study...

"We won't know for sure until we do it," Sonic said as he shrugged.

"What caused the Emeralds to be scattered around the world anyway?" Merhea asked. Thankfully, Merhea doesn't know anything about the Sonic games, and even if she does, she wouldn't say anything about it unless I tell her to.

"When all seven Emeralds come together, there is a time limit," Knuckles explained, "After a certain period of time, the Emeralds scatter again. Meaning that we'll have to search for them all over again."

"I see..." was all I said in response.

...

After a few more minutes of talking, Vanilla then realized that it was getting late. After telling everyone else that they'll talk about these matters tomorrow, almost everyone but Sonic, Cream, Cheese, Vanilla, Maria and Merhea had left Vanilla and Cream's house. Cream the Rabbit then put away her somewhat forgotten building blocks and already went upstairs for bed with Cheese following, Maria then told Merhea that she should do the same thing. As did said that she had no problem with it, Vanilla then offered to show her to the guest bedroom that Maria was offered to stay in. After all of that, Sonic and Maria were the only ones left in the living room.

Sonic then noticed Maria examining her crystalline arm, since he was standing in the direction of her left, he wasn't able to see her red eye. However, her emerald green eye narrowed a little at the sight of her arm. She twitched her crystalline fingers for a little bit before clenching it to a fist before relaxing it. She then heaved out a sigh as she turned her head a little, her hair flowed in a elegant manner as it obscured her face from view. Feeling a little sorry for her, Sonic sat next to her and decided to strike up a conversation.

"Everything going okay for you?" Sonic said as he looked at the ceiling.

"Huh?" Maria looked to her left as she moved her hair out of her eyes, then sighed, "Yeah... I guess..."

"Something wrong?"

"Yeah... I'm just... worried that I'll never turn back to normal..." she then placed her hand against her chest above her heart.

"You hiding something, aren't you?" Sonic said as he raised his brow a little.

"Yeah... I am..." Maria hung her head a little, "I didn't want to say anything about it with so many of them around..."

"Care telling me?" Sonic asked, not wanting to hurt Maria's feelings, since he dislikes tears.

"There was... something else... that I encountered in that dark void... other than those three balls of light..." her hand over her chest then became a fist.

"What was it?" Sonic blinked as he asked with interest in his voice.

"There was... well... I..." Maria took a deep breath in order to calm herself, "I... was shot by something, and it..." she partially gripped her shirt over her chest, "...Stabbed me here..." she then noticed Sonic's partially shocked expression, "It didn't hurt, really... I don't even know if it was real or not..." she then gave out a small forced smile.

"Um... Sorry to hear that," Sonic said as he stood up.

"No worries," Maria said as she suddenly cheered up a little, "I feel a lot better thanks to you, I needed to tell someone about that part, thanks Sonic."

"Heh..." Sonic gave her his trademark smirk and thumbs up, "No problem."

"My only request," Maria said as she smiled a little, "...Just don't tell anyone about what I just said to you, not even your friends or my sister."

"That's fine by me, and don't worry," Sonic said as he smiled a little, "I promise we'll get you and Merhea home soon, and we'll find a way to turn you back to normal."

"Thanks again..." Maria then stood up herself, she then looked at the clock, which read to be 9:23 p.m.

"It's getting late, I best be going," Sonic said as he was about to leave, "I'll see you the next day," with that said, he left and disappeared into the night.

...

It was getting pretty late, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to go to bed a little earlier than I usually do. Usually I sleep at 11:00 p.m., but I think this can be an exception. Even though I've been unconscious for over a day since yesterday, I've been still feeling tired since who knows when. Without anything else to worry about for now, I quietly went upstairs. I came across Vanilla as I walked up the stairway, she then told me that both Cream, Cheese, and Merhea were already asleep. I gave her my thanks as I went into the guest bedroom, it was then that I noticed that Merhea was sleeping on a rollaway mattress that was coming from the bed. Man... Vanilla sure is prepared when it comes down to housing a guest, I'll give her that. After gently saying goodnight to the sleeping Merhea, I quietly climbed onto the bed as I covered myself with the sheets. After turning off the tiny lamp that was the only thing illuminating the room, I made myself comfortable and went to sleep...

_...My only hope is that..._

_...That we will reach home soon..._

_...Merhea and I don't belong here... we never did... and we never will..._

_...I don't want to be a monster forever... and I don't want Merhea to suffer the same fate as me..._

_...I hope Sonic will keep his promise... he always has... hasn't he...?_

_...I've always doubted people... because they'd hardly understand my emotions..._

_...Even though he's promised me... I can't depend on Sonic all the way..._

_... Because there are times..._

_...That us victims will have to do the action..._

_...I must bear the suffering for me becoming this monster..._

_...For I am a Crystal Golem... and I will do what it takes..._

_...To return home to our home world..._

...

...

...

**(End of the Fifth Crystal)**

**Authoress' Notes:** Some deliberate random things were added there for the sake of humor, though I know that you might not find them as funny. And no, Merhea's gift for Maria will not be revealed until the Sixth Crystal, though I'm sure that it's obvious to you on what it is.

**References:** When someone is said to have lost their mind and then suddenly regains it, they tend to remember odd things that happened to them. However, this was based on some psychology that I studied. If you think that's it's a little stupid, than that's fine, because I sometimes think that kind of psychology was a bit stupid myself.

Herbal teas have soothing aromas that come with it. You see, tea was actually invented by accident, it was unintentionally created in the ancient times of China by a certain Emperor (I forgot who, though). It happened when he was one day boiling water under a tree with herbal leaves, after a few leaves fell in, tea was brewed. However, this source came from a book called something related to... _Accidental Inventions_, I think...? I can't remember, I read this piece of info over two years ago, so don't blame me.

Lolita Blackash is a character that my cousin let me use since I helped design her clothing. She was named after the style she wears, the black lolita clothing. She usually wears those black chunky, high-heeled boots and carries an umbrella with a black lace (it's for decoration and ceremonial use). She doesn't wear make up or piercings, but she does wear the gothic black, fingerless gloves. Andy Tulip was named after an actual person that my cousin knows, he also acts the same way that the Andy here in this fanfic, he's a funny jokester. And yes, he's sometimes called "Andy Rose" because of his name being so similar to Amy Rose (the actual Andy is 20, he's been around _way_ longer than Amy Rose), much to his disgust. He bears no resemblance to the Andy Tulip here in this fanfic, we used his name here in order to have some fun.

The part when Merhea said that she likes potatoes is a joke that's been used on various cartoon shows. This part was based off the part in the ending credits of _Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends_ on the episode called _Mac Daddy_ (I love that one, Cheese was so hilarious), when Eduardo said "And Si, I like potatoes." (keep in mind that the "i" in Si has that little accent mark) Just so you know, "Si" is Spanish for "Yes." (Eduardo sometimes speaks Spanish, he was created by a young Spanish girl who now works as a police officer) I don't watch the show very often, I just watch random shows at random times. And yes, Merhea actually hates potatoes (unless they're mashed with milk and salt).

The part that had Knuckles saying that the Emeralds scatter once they're all together after a certain period of time was based on the logic that Sonic says in the beginning of episode 4 in the anime Sonic X. This seemed pretty logical in Chaos Emerald terms, so I thought that might make some pretty good info there. There are still things about the Chaos Emeralds that are not yet revealed, but I'm sure SEGA will release some new info about them in the upcoming game _Sonic Unleashed_ (you see, I prefer to use official Chaos Emerald information that SEGA makes).

...

If you like RotCG, leave you opinion and tell me what you think.


	6. Lost Senses, New Abilities

My thanks to BriMarie for being the only one to leave a review of the previous chapter before this was uploaded. My only request, is that if you're going to put this on your alert list or anything similar, please leave me a review and tell me what you think. If you have any constructive criticism, that would be nice, that way I might be able to make the story better for you readers. Afterall, I don't think there are many fanfics with long chapters. If you think that my chapters are too long, I apologize, I tend to get carried away to make long chapters.

**My Disclaimer:** I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, they belong to SEGA. Only Maria and Merhea Robotnik belong to me, as do the Golems here.

Once again, I thank BriMarie for being my best reviewer. She's written some pretty interesting stories, if you have any free time, you should take a look at her stories.

...

**The Sixth Crystal: Lost Senses, New Abilities**

...

Around 7:00 in the next morning Sonic returned to Cream and Vanilla's house; sure, he's aware that he's a little early, but he wanted to make sure that Maria doesn't go in another rampage. Sonic kept the two Chaos Emeralds within his quills so that way, he will be able to use them whenever he needs them, for these Emeralds were able to calm Maria down from her mindless rampage. He did consider running around in random places like he does usually, but with the Robotnik sisters in the situation they're in, he just couldn't stand not helping them for it's against his own nature. He also promised Maria that he'll do whatever he can in order to get her and her sister back home in their world; he then wondered... what was Maria's world like? Well, whatever her world is like, he'll have to ask her once he gets the chance. Tails would've come along with Sonic, but he left Tails behind back at Tails' workshop, because Sonic thought Tails needed the extra sleep anyway. Recently Tails has been working on the Tornado for quite some time, and because of that Tails usually becomes restless when it comes down to the Tornado.

He then gently knocked Vanilla's door, for if he rang the doorbell, it could wake someone up. He waited for a few moments, but no one answered. Just as when he was about to leave, a voice rang out to him as someone opened the door.

"Sonic?"

Sonic turned and saw Vanilla at the doorstep, "Oh... Hey, Vanilla," he then asked, "Anyone else up yet?"

"Cream is," Vanilla answered as she let Sonic in and gently closed the door, "She's already in the kitchen helping herself to some breakfast. As for the girls, not..."

"**_WAUGH!!_**" Vanilla was cut off by a loud scream as a loud "**_THUMP!_**" was heard.

"I stand corrected," Vanilla said, then both she and Sonic raced up to the guest room, "Maria! Is everything...?" she then opened the door, "...Okay...?"

This was an odd sight, because what Sonic and Vanilla saw, this was really odd. The alarm clock was still beeping a little loudly as Merhea was laughing on her mattress of the rollaway bed in her pajamas that her sister got for her. As for Maria... only her right crystallized foot was seen from the other side of the bed, which made it apparent that Maria fell out of her bed somehow.

"Ow..." Maria then got to her knees as she climbed back up and leaned herself against the bed, which revealed that she was also wearing one of her new pairs of navy blue pajamas, "That was _not_ funny, Merhea," she said as her eyes narrowed, "I thought I told you not to do that whenever we're in someone else's house."

"But it's so fun... Hehehe..." Merhea giggled a little as she spoke.

"Whatever..." Maria then got to her feet and turned off the alarm clock, "Maybe I should start using you as an alarm clock..."

"What happened here?" Sonic said as he became a little amused at the scene.

"It's one of Merhea's pranks," Maria said bluntly, "She's wakes me up around a minute or less before the alarm goes off, and I get startled awake because of it."

"She does that a lot, doesn't she?" Vanilla smiled as she asked.

"Yep... This little girl is one little devil," Maria smirked as she spoke, which made Merhea giggle again in response. Maria then turned to Vanilla and Sonic, "Well, that's out of the way... Sorry if we woke you guys."

"It's no trouble," Vanilla said as she smiled and turned to leave, "I prepared you some food for you to have for breakfast, so you girls can come on down, Cream's already there."

"Um... Okay..." Maria's face appeared to have turned red a little.

"Yay! Food!" Merhea chirped with joy as she ran downstairs to join Cream, which caused the other three to laugh a little.

Eh heh heh..." Maria laughed a little nervously, "That's Merhea... she's always eager for food in the morning."

"Oh well, you can't blame her," Vanilla smiled as she chuckled went downstairs with Sonic following, she then noticed, "Maria? Are you coming?"

"As soon as I get dressed, ma'am," Maria said as she picked out some clothes to wear.

"All right," Vanilla said, "Just come on down before breakfast gets cold."

...

With Vanilla and Sonic gone, I closed and locked the door. I looked at my newly obtained clothes again, I then chose the clothes I was planing to wear and took off my pajamas. Slowly, I put on my new blue jeans, for I did not want my uh... toe claws to rip through the pant legs. I put on a different black sports bra on as I covered myself with a thick white t-shirt with short blue sleeves. I then brushed my hair with a hairbrush that Vanilla bought for me to use; even with my bottom half of my hair being blue, I was able to brush it easily as ever. To me, it seemed like as if my hair was dyed instead of being turned into crystal, but it didn't really matter to me anyway. I put down the hairbrush as I looked at myself in the mirror, I sighed to myself. I still had the crystalline features over the right side of my face, my right eye was still red with a black cross-shaped pupil with a black sclera. It was actually kind of creepy for me to have an eye like this... I shook aside the thought, I can't be thinking about subjects like this right now. Right now, I need to be strong for Merhea.

I then put my white socks and black shoes on, after tightening the laces, I was ready for anything today. Feeling that I should head downstairs, I quietly left the bedroom and went downstairs in a quiet manner. Usually whenever I wake up for the day, I usually get dresses first before eating breakfast. It may seem like as if I'm a perfectionist or anything, but I do it because I'm usually eager to do things after breakfast in the morning. Being the somewhat hyperactive girl I am, I guess it's safe to say that it's understandable. As soon as I came downstairs, I saw Merhea and Cream already eating away their breakfast, which was composed of ham and scrambled eggs. I heard a few voices, I then turned my head as I glanced and saw Sonic talking to Vanilla about something.

I then wondered... what's Sonic doing here anyway? I mean, doesn't he usually live in Tails' workshop or something? Then again, he _did_ have a house in _Sonic and the Secret Rings_, but there's been many sources that he doesn't live in a permanent location. Besides, that was a spin-off game, so I don't think that game's canon to the Sonic storyline. Still, I often wondered how Sonic's able to live his life. I mean, he usually runs for adventure everyday, and he comes "home" to any of his friends' residences at night or whenever he's weary (though I bet that rarely happens). I also wondered how old Sonic was when he first took on Eggman; then again, according to sources I read from the Internet regarding the comics, Sonic was only **_nine_** years old when he first took on Eggman. Huh... nine years old, eh? Not exactly what I would call an actual childhood, that actually made me feel sorry for the blue hedgehog at that moment. When I was nine, I was only going through the path from elementary school to middle school. Man... I feel so stupid comparing myself to Sonic. Even though I have "Sonic" as my nickname in the real world, I know that I never really deserved being called that now that I have met Sonic himself here in this world of his. I wonder if he...

"Hey, Maria? You okay?" a voice made me snap back to reality.

"Eh?" I quickly turned and saw Sonic as I jumped a little, after a moment I relaxed, "Oh... It's only you."

"Who'd you think it was?" Sonic smirked at me.

I smirked back at him as I said, "...Father Christmas?"

Sonic snickered a little, "Where'd that come from?"

"If you were living in my home world as long as I have, Sonic, you'd get it," I said as I waved my crystallized hand and smirked a little again, I then realized something, "Wait a minute, what are you doing here anyway?"

"No reason," was all Sonic said as he shrugged a little. I looked at him closely, somehow... I could tell that he was lying, but I didn't want to push the matter any further right now.

"Well, since both of you are here," both Sonic and I turned and saw Vanilla preparing two plates as she placed them on the table, "Eat as much as you like."

"Uh... thanks, Vanilla," I blinked a few times as I spoke. Even though both Merhea and I have been here in this world for only a day, it felt like as if we're part of Vanilla's family already. Oddly, it felt comforting to me. Maybe it's because, it does feel like that both Merhea and I have found a place for us to go to. However... I had to remind myself countless times that neither of us belong in this world, we have to get home whether we want to or not.

I sat quietly next to Merhea as I looked at my plate, oddly... I don't even feel hungry at all... I find it odd because I remember... the last time I ate... was breakfast back at our home world in our house. Maybe it's because of what I've went through as a uh... Crystal Golem. I quietly picked up my fork as I took a bite out of the eggs, which looked very freshly cooked. As soon as it came into my mouth, however... my eyes widened a little. Not out of disgust, but in shock...

I did not feel the taste in the food...

I don't understand... it's not like as if I don't like it but... why isn't there any taste in my mouth? I swallowed the egg, hoping that I might sense the taste. Unfortunately, it didn't feel like anything went into my stomach. I quietly cut a piece of the ham and took a bite out of it, my fears were confirmed... I can't sense the taste in the food at all... In fact, I don't even feel hungry at all, like I said before. I find this odd, because normally...

"Big Sis?" Merhea cut me off from my thoughts, "You okay? Normally you would've eaten the whole thing by now."

"Um..." I stared at my fork, not knowing what to say, "Um... I... um..." I put down the fork, which still had a piece of ham in it, "I... I guess I'm done..."

"You hardly ever touched it, dear..." Vanilla muttered as she looked at my plate with a concerned look on her face.

"Um... I guess I just don't much of an appetite..." I said as I quietly stood up, "Um... excuse me..." I then quietly, but quickly left the kitchen and went into the living room. I sat down against the sofa as I was thinking to myself, I really don't know what's happening to me, but... does my crystallized features have anything to do with this? I mean, what if... what if my insides had crystallized too? I mean, if that's the case then... does that mean I'm losing my human senses or something? I hope it's just me having a loss of appetite...

"Yo, Maria, you okay?"

I turned and saw Sonic standing to my right eating an apple, I wonder... what's with Sonic anyway? Ever since I came here in this world, Sonic would occasionally come to check on either me or Merhea (mostly me). I did want to ask him what was on his mind, but I bit my tongue at the last second. I honestly had no idea what I should to say in order to answer Sonic's question, then again... he did ask me if I was feeling okay...

"Um... Yeah... I'm fine..." was all I said.

"You don't seem to be," Sonic said as he took another bite from his apple.

"I guess I'm just I'm a little tense, you know... being around people you hardly even know..." I said as I scratched my head.

"I understand," Sonic said as he sat down next to me, "I mean, it's not everyday that someone gets oneself to another world with unknown meaning."

"And suddenly being rescued by kind-hearted people," I said as I smiled and rolled my eyes a little.

"Hey, better than being taken prisoner by Eggman," Sonic pointed out.

"Good point," I laughed a little at Sonic's statement.

...

Sonic glanced at Maria's crystalline features again as he was wondering on how to turn Maria back to normal. He also tried to figure out what was wrong with her, and what was going on in her mind. He isn't usually the type to snoop into someone else's business, but since both Maria and Merhea are from another world, he had to know what their world was like. He wondered if their world was like the world that Sonic and his friends live in right now, or if it's a world that's completely different from the one here. He had doubts that it might be different from his, mostly because of Maria's gunshot wound. Sonic then wondered what this "Sweet Lane" was, since Maria never fully explained on what it may be, and she also didn't say much about the events when she was shot and why it happened.

"By the way, Maria," Sonic said before he could stop himself, "What's it like in your world?"

"Huh? Um..." Maria then scratched here head, "Well... It's a bit like this world, only the technology here's just a little more advanced. Though I can guarantee you that there aren't any giant robots like the one Eggman has, those only exist in movies."

"What's your home like? You know, the house you live in, along with the town," Sonic then asked.

"Well, my house is just average... kinda like this house that we're in right now," Maria said as she then sighed in a solemn matter, "As for the town... it's completely different from this town..."

"Why's that?" Sonic then became interested, "You hate your town?"

"I don't hate it, but..." Maria paused for a moment, "It would've been a great place to live if not for the increased criminal activity there... it's because of those three escaped criminals that I got shot in the side," she then gently touched her left side,which was covered with her shirt, "Man... I'm glad that it missed my internal organs... I'll have to admit, even though it still hurts a little, the medical care here's a lot better than the care in our world."

"What exactly do the criminals do there anyway?" Sonic then became a little concerned, "They kill people or something?"

"Only if they don't do what they say," Maria said as she shrugged, "They do numerous things: they rob people at gunpoint, rob homes, stores, whatever. They kidnap, kill, or do whatever. Sometimes they kill each other for racial reasons. The reason why I became a victim because about a year ago, I helped the police catch three criminals that did a lot of things. I never really found out what, though."

"How'd you help catch them?" Sonic raised his brow at this.

"Yeah... uh..." Maria closed her eyes as she had a laughing smile on her face, "My crazy instincts just _had_ to kick in at the worst time for one of those goons..."

"You mean the thing you did to Rouge last night?" Sonic asked as he doubted on this.

"Yep, you got it," Maria gave out a smirk, "My 'Comical Beatings and Rants of Doom,' or CBRD for short."

"'Comical Beatings and Rants of Doom?'" Sonic repeated as he became confused at that, "Uh... That's an interesting title..."

"Merhea named that, not me."

"Oh."

"Doesn't really matter anyway," Maria said as she had her arms behind her head and leaned against the sofa, "Anything else you want to ask me?"

"Yeah, what's the 'Sweet Lane?'" Sonic was curious on that, "You've mentioned it a few times."

Maria told him the origins of the abandoned candy store, and how all of this happening began there. She then told Sonic the events that happened with the "dream" of her possessing Shadow, the time when she, her sister, and a friend named Lulubell were getting ready for an average day in school. She then told Sonic that she decided to wait outside to stare into the snowy sky with Merhea by her side as Lulubell went on ahead, the time when she saw the three criminals, the time when they had to escape with her shot in the process. Maria then told him the events that happened after the Sweet Lane, all the way until she came to and met Sonic and friends as soon as she woke up in this world. However, she left out the part of her being unable to taste, and her not even feeling hungry at all.

"So yeah... That's pretty much it," Maria said as she shrugged.

"Oh... Sorry to hear that..." Sonic felt a little sympathy with her after she told him everything.

"It's okay, Sonic, you didn't know," Maria then gave out a somewhat saddened frown, "I'm only hoping that Lulubell's okay..."

"I'm sure she is," Sonic said as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "Judging from what you told me, I don't think she'll go down that easily."

"Thanks, Sonic," Maria smiled, "...For trying to cheer me up."

"Hey, no problem," Sonic said as he took his last bite from his nearly forgotten apple, "Besides, we're gonna get those last five Chaos Emeralds if it's the last thing we do."

"I don't know about that, but..." Maria then had a normal thinking pose, "Oh well, since I'm here, I guess both Merhea and I will try to help as well."

"You don't have to, you know," Sonic said as he threw away his apple core to a nearby garbage can.

"Since when does someone keep a garbage can in a living room?" Maria asked.

"Beats me," Sonic said.

"Anyway," Maria said as she went back on the subject, "Even though we don't have to, I still want to help out on finding the Chaos Emeralds. Mostly because I don't like everyone else doing all the work."

"Hahaha! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Sonic laughed, "All right, meet ya at the workshop!" Sonic then ran off for unknown reasons.

"What...?" was all Maria said as soon as she realized that Sonic ran off.

...

I sighed to myself, Sonic left again for whatever reason there may be. Still, I wonder what he meant by 'the workshop'? The only workshop I know that's here in this world was Tails' workshop... I then mentally slapped myself. Stupid me, Sonic must've meant that he wanted to show me Tails' workshop or something. Then again, I would like to see the Tornado, their airplane. Speaking of the Tornado... I wonder what it looks like now? It can't be the X-Tornado, because that was in the Sonic X anime. I think it's safe to say that the Tornado will be the familiar blue airplane that was seen in the _Sonic Adventure_ games. Then again, it could be red, like the one seen in the really early Sonic the Hedgehog games. Well, I won't know what it looks like until I see it, so I guess that's fair.

I then thought about my situation, why couldn't I taste food anymore? I know this will cause some concerns among Sonic and the others, especially Merhea, Vanilla, Amy, and Cream, but... I know I can't tell anyone about this situation yet. The part about me having these crystalline features were more than enough for me bear, but I have to live with it. I sighed to myself, why is this happening to me? I don't want to be a monster forever... If turning back to normal is impossible, at least I should be able to _control_ myself whenever I'm in this form. That way I might be able to use these abilities for good use, if I'm lucky, I might be able to help Sonic and the others search for the Chaos Emeralds! ...Which I doubt will happen...

"Maria? Are you ready?"

"Eh? What?" I turned and saw Vanilla standing in front of me as she was holding something, "Are we going somewhere?"

"That's right," Vanilla said as she nodded, "Were going to the Mystic Ruins."

"Uh... Why?" I was still clueless, much to my dismay.

"Because Sonic and I figured that we should at least let you and Merhea get to know the place," Vanilla explained, "Not only that, you'll get to see Tails again."

"Oh, right... I guess that's a good idea..." I then realized something, "But wait a minute! I can't go out in the public with these features on me!" I became a little frantic as I mentioned my crystalline features, for I didn't want to frighten anyone in the public into thinking that I'm not a monster... which I am somewhat... due to my out of control rampage...

"No problem dearie, we have that all taken care of," Vanilla then held out what she was holding, which turned out to be half of a face mask, "You can wear this mask to cover the right side of your face. We can cover your arm with one of my pairs of long arm gloves."

"What about my hair?" I asked as I was referring to the light blue hue that was on the middle to the bottom of my hair.

"We won't need to worry about that," Vanilla smiled, "People will just think that it's hair dye or something."

"I guess that's fine..." I said as I gently took the mask.

"Try it on and see if it fits," Vanilla said to me.

I looked at the face of the mask, it had an ivory-like feel to it. It's glossy white color suited its texture, a little eyehole was cut into it for the wearer to see. One could barely see a small black screen over the eyehole, though, but you could still se though it, as I mentioned before. A red scar-shaped line was painted vertically across the eyehole, and a tiny black cross-shaped mark was on the middle of the forehead area. I looked at the mask again and saw that it will be able to cover all of the crystalline features on my face, I guess I should be satisfied about that. I then did as I was told and tried on the mask. To my surprise, it fitted my face perfectly. My entire mouth was still showing, allowing me to talk without anything in my way. It was a little difficult for me to see, but I can manage.

"It fits perfectly, thanks!" I said in what seemed to be approval.

"You're welcome," Vanilla smiled as she gave a single nod, she then walked over to a another room. She was gone for a least about a minute, I was wondering what she was doing, but I held back from doing so. She then came back as she held a pair of long white arm-length gloves.

"I use one of those for covering my arm, right?" I asked.

"That's right," Vanilla said, "These gloves were getting a little old anyway. In fact, I was planning on throwing them out soon. Good thing I didn't yet," she chuckled a little as she said this.

"Haha... Yeah, good thing you didn't," I laughed a little myself as I tried on one of the long gloves on my left arm. It was a little difficult due to my uh... crystalline claws, but... I was able to manage without ripping the cloth. I covered the top of the glove with my left sleeve from my shirt, I was satisfied that none of my crystalline features showed through. I didn't think there was any need of me wearing the other glove, so I simply gave it back to Vanilla as I gave her my thanks. I guess I'm ready for the day, now that my crystalline feature are covered... Wait a minute! "Vanilla, what about my teeth?" I've almost forgotten about my crystallized fangs!

"If you don't talk much, there shouldn't be any problem," was all Vanilla said, "Besides, we're not going to be out in the public for long."

"Oh... Okay..." I said nervously. I then went up to my room and took out a dark blue light jacket and put it on without saying anything else.

A few minutes later, Vanilla took me, Merhea, Cream and Cheese outside of the their house and locked the front door. Merhea held on to her backpack, since she carries her most prized possessions in there. I still wore my glove and mask as the four of us (five if you count Cheese) left the house, I did become a little nervous as I saw a few people giving us strange looks. Thankfully, hair hid most of my mask, so I don't think people will even pay attention to it. I was thinking about what it would be like at Tails' workshop; I mean, going there might actually be fun. I think it would be a once in a lifetime chance to even see the Tornado through my own eyes, instead of seeing the Tornado through pixels on a screen. Not only that, I guess going to the Mystic Ruins will let me be able to take a load off my mind. I then thought about which Sonic characters I've met and the ones I didn't. Okay, I've met uh... Sonic, Tails, Knuckles (though he never said his name, not that it matters), Amy, Vanilla, Cream, Cheese, Shadow, and Rouge. The ones I didn't meet yet were... who were they again? Oh... yes... The ones I didn't meet yet were the Chaotix (composed of Espio, Vector, and Charmy), Omega, Blaze the Cat, Silver the Hedgehog... who else? Oh... right... Big the Cat, along with Froggy. I've already met Dr. Eggman, because he's the first person I actually came into contact with... Well... maybe the second, after Shadow the Hedgehog. Oh well, I hope I can meet the other heroes here in this universe soon...

"Hey, Big Sis? Big Sis, wake up!"

"Eh?" I snapped out of my thoughts... again... I then turned my head towards Merhea. It was then I realized that Amy suddenly showed up from her house, "Amy? What are you doing here?" Though I'm pretty sure she's planning to catch Sonic... again...

"I'm going with you guys," Amy said as she held on what seemed to be a package, "And I'm planning on giving this to Sonic!" ...I could've sworn I saw hearts coming from her eyes in anime style... but that's only from my head... I think...

"Um... What's in it?" I asked, not that I was expecting an answer.

"You'll find out once I give this to him! Hehehe!" Amy giggled as she skipped off to a random direction until...

"Amy! The train station's that way!" I heard Cream shout out as she pointed to the direction to what seemed to be the train station. I mentally slapped my forehead as soon as I heard that, I swear to the ones above us that Amy can be so _stupid_ during the times of her being lovesick for Sonic... Oh well... nothing I can do about it. At least the running gag of her chasing Sonic for who knows how long lives on... I think...

"Ah! Sorry!" Amy said as she came running right past us and ran off to the right direction, leaving me and the others behind.

"Is she always like that?" I heard Merhea ask both Vanilla and Cream.

"Only when she's crazy for Sonic," Vanilla said as she chuckled a little, she then started leading us to the train station leading to the Mystic Ruins.

"I thought she was always crazy for him," I said for no particular reason.

"Only when she's _really_ up for it," Cream said.

"Oh..." Uh... okay... somehow... I feel like I said something stupid.

...

Sonic said nothing as he helped Tails work on their Tornado airplane by passing Tails the proper tools, even though he usually leaves the work to Tails, Sonic sometimes likes to work on the Tornado with Tails sometimes. The Tornado is basically his, but he lets Tails keep it in his workshop since he's the one who usually uses it, and not Sonic. Not that he minds, though, because he'll always prefer running with his legs over flying any day. The only times whenever the Tornado's being used anyway was for any of the tasks that Tails has to perform, also, Sonic and Tails can use the Tornado in order to get to any aerial bases that Eggman makes. Which, of course, they've done more than once. Right now Tails was lying on his back against a roller mat below the Tornado, with Sonic next to the toolbox.

"Okay, now can you pass me the screwdriver with the hex?" Tails asked as he put down a few screws.

"Hang on a sec..." Sonic said as he rummaged through the tools, "Which size?"

"Size 3," Tails said.

"Okay, got it. Here you go..." Sonic ducked down and passed the hex screwdriver to Tails while trying to avoid hitting his head on the wing.

"Thanks," Tails took the tool without taking his eyes off the parts of the Tornado he was working on, "Now we just put that here and... There! We're all done!" Tails then slid out from under the Tornado.

"That's great, but first..." Sonic then pointed at Tails' fur, which had grease all over it, "You need a bath."

"Yeah, I know," Tails laughed a little at that, he then remembered something, "By the way, Sonic... How are those two girls doing?"

"Merhea's doing fine, I think she'll get along with Cream pretty well," Sonic then had a somewhat concerned look on his face, "It's her sister that I'm concerned about."

"Why's that?" Tails asked as he cleaned off a bit of grease from his face.

"She doesn't seem to trust us," Sonic said, "Well, actually... she'll answer your questions about what it's like in her world, since I asked her that, but... I don't think she's being herself."

"Well... Maybe she's still trying to get used to us," Tails said, as he then noticed a somewhat confused look on Sonic's face, "What I mean is, how would you feel if you were suddenly taken away from your homeland, and then suddenly ended up in a world that you have no idea of where you are? And to make matters worse, she seems to be suffering emotionally for unknown reasons."

"I guess that makes sense..." Sonic said, "I bet I would've felt the same way."

"I suggest we give her some more time," Tails said, "I'm sure she'll feel better about herself soon," shortly afterwards, a knock was heard from the front door.

"Ah! That must be Vanilla and the others!" Sonic became a little excited as did Tails. Without wasting a second, Sonic ran over the front door and opened it... just before he avoided Amy trying to hug him, causing her to crash on the floor... again...

"Ow..." Amy moaned a little since she landed on her face.

"Hey there, guys! Glad you came!" Sonic said happily as he saw Vanilla and the others with her... except one, "Hey... Where's Maria?"

"Huh?" Merhea looked and saw no one behind her, "Where's Big Sis?!"

"I think she's... Oh, there she is! Over there!" Vanilla smiled as she pointed over at the edge of a cliff located near the edge of the hidden runway.

Both Sonic and Tails, along with Merhea, Cream and Cheese, looked at the direction Vanilla was pointed at. They saw Maria staring at the view of the ocean from the cliff, how she got there so quickly was a mystery. With the early afternoon sun still going up in the horizon, one could se beautiful and gorgeous glimmers throughout the ocean water. Sonic the noticed Maria doing a movement with her right arm, Merhea seem to know what it was though, since she ran over towards her sisters in a matter of seconds. Curious on what Maria was up to, Sonic followed, as did everyone else. Merhea then walked over to her older sister and tugged on her left sleeve, which caught Maria's attention. She gave out that forced and painful smile of hers as she held out a shining light ocarina as it was glistening in the sunlight.

Merhea then opened her small backpack and took out an ocarina of her own, which was an even lighter blue than her sisters. Maria did give out what seemed to be a questioning look, but she still had her painful smile on her face.

"We never finished that song back at school, Big Sis," Merhea said, which caught the attention of Sonic and the others, "We're back together again..." she paused for a moment, "Can we play our song? You know... the song we only play once a year?"

Maria's painful smile faded as she remained silent for what seemed to be an eternity, however, she then drew what seemed to be a breathing sigh as she placed her ocarina's mouthpiece into her lips and gently blew a few notes of an indescribably soothing sound.

"Thank you, Big Sis!" Merhea said with joy in her eyes as she started playing her own musical notes. Maria stopped playing as she looked at Merhea, which caused Merhea to stop as well. Maria then knelt down to Merhea's height as she placed her finger on Merhea's forehead, which caused her to blink in sadness.

This time, she gave out an actual smile, "Don't be hasty, Merhea. You'll blow out the wrong notes if you do so."

"Huh?" Merhea suddenly perked up just as her older sister stood up.

"Shall we?" Maria smiled again, she then closed her eyes and started playing, Merhea soon followed.

Sonic and friends soon became captivated by the song that was being played, since everyone sat down as they enjoyed it. Their song became mixed with radiation, joy, love, harmony... and any other soothing happy emotion there was. The Robotnik sisters eventually sat down themselves as they played their song. After a few minutes, their song was reaching its end. The very last notes played soothingly trailed off as their song had finally ended. Sonic and the others clapped their hands shortly afterwards.

"That was amazing!" Amy became amazed, "How were you able to play such an amazing song?"

"It takes practice Amy, lots and _lots_ of practice," Maria smirked and she brushed her hair away from her face, it was then Sonic and Tails noticed the mask covering the right side of her face.

"Why do you have that mask on?" Tails asked.

"It's to cover my crystalline features from the public," Maria said as she touched her mask, "I don't want people thinking that I'm a monster, and I don't intend to be one..."

"I see..."

Maria then seemed to have noticed something, judging from her flinch-like reaction. Without warning, she grabbed Cream (who was holding Cheese) and Merhea and ran towards the workshop at... supersonic speed? "Enemy at 6 o' clock!" Maria yelled as she pointed at the direction behind Sonic and the others from below the cliff. Reacting quickly, Sonic took Vanilla as Tails took Amy to safety near Tails' workshop. Sonic looked at his left and saw Maria's mask obscuring per of her face, he was only able to see her mouth, which seemed to be growling a little.

"What's going on?!" Sonic asked towards Maria.

She didn't respond...

"Maria?" Tails asked in concern.

Maria took off her mask without answering and handed it to Cream without a word. Sonic then took a better look at Maria now that the mask of off of her face, and he saw her red eye glow as it was narrowing at something...

"Big Sis...?" Merhea said as she became a little scared, "W...what's going on...?"

"...Something's here..." Maria growled, she seemed to have been possessed by something again.

"Something's here? What?" Sonic didn't even know what she meant by that, he was about to ask her again, but...

"So, that little girl freak is here now, eh?"

Sonic and the others looked up and saw a small hovercraft carrying the one person they (except Merhea) know all too well, it was the mad scientist named Dr. Eggman.

"Eggman!" Sonic exclaimed as he clenched his fists, "What are you up to this time?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Eggman said as he smirked, "I'm here to take back my Emeralds, Sonic! How hand them over!" He demanded as he took out a strange remote control with a few buttons on it.

"He's not the one I'm seeing..." Maria muttered.

"What?" Sonic was just about to ask when Maria quickly took off her light jacket and long glove as soon as her arm grew bigger into a weaponized arm. She released another rampage against an unknown adversary...

"PHYAAA!!" Maria lashed out at some kind of invisible enemy, and it caused a sickening sound as her arm came into contact.

"Maria! What are you...?!" Sonic was cut off when he saw something out of the ordinary, "What in the world...?"

A strange rock-like creature slowly became visible in front of Maria, it looked like human-shaped golem-like creature. It had a plain gray color, and it looked like it was made out of pewter rock. It gave out very low-pitched beeps as it seemed to have moaned in pain from the wound it sustained from Maria. Whatever it was, Maria didn't seem to show it any mercy, since she started tearing the rock-like creature apart... No one said anything as they stayed away from a safe distance from the rampaging Maria.

"What?! How can you see that Golem?!" Eggman roared with fury, "No matter! I've got plenty more where that came from!" he than activated something on his remote, which then caused something to jump out of the water from the ocean, it then landed gracefully next to Eggman.

"What is that?!" both Tails and Amy said at the same time. Maria growled at Eggman's new underling, it was just like that other rock monster that she tore to pieces, only it was just sported in what seemed to be metal armor, old-fashioned at that. It had a human-shaped body, its face sported no features at all. It's arms were in the same fashion as Maria's crystallized arm, like that of a weapon. Sonic examined the rock creature from a distance as he tried to find any weak spot, unfortunately, he wasn't able to spot any.

"This...!" Eggman started as he pointed at the rock creature, "Is a Golem! A Pewter Golem to be exact! This are creatures from the ancient times from another universe! With these creatures, I can over the world!" Eggman then gave out his trademark laugh as Maria and friends stiffened.

...

Golems...? That's what they're called...? I don't know what's going on, but somehow, my right eye is seeing things that I can't see with my left... I'm seeing some sort of... essence coming from within the Golem. It seemed to have been... screaming on pain...? I don't know what's happening right now, but I know I have to end that Golem's life, somehow... I think that's how that Golem wants it, but I'm not sure... I remember Eggman saying how can I see it... does that mean that Sonic and the others couldn't see it earlier? If that's the case, then how could Eggman see it? I put aside that thought, since I began to wonder... what's going on with my body? I remember my arm turning into a weapon, but every time that happens, I lose my mind and go on a rampage. Is it perhaps... that something's here that enabling me to keep my mind? My body was still standing as it slumped forward a little, my left arm was literally lying against the ground as my regular right arm wasn't moving at all. The Golem's posture was in a similar manner than that of mine, however, the rock-like parts of it's body made it much more bulky than me, not that I cared anyway.

"You there!" I turned my torso and head to my left and saw Eggman pointing at me, "You will pay for destroying my other robot back at Station Square!"

Even though I listened to Eggman's words, I ignored him shortly afterwards as I turned my attention back towards the Golem. It stared at me lifelessly with its blank face, it was actually kind of creepy in a way if you look at it in a certain angle. This didn't bother me, however, because I have seen things more scary (or upsetting) than this. I did wonder how Eggman came into contact with that Golem thing, because this scene reminded me of the time when both Sonic and Tails were introduced to that blue mutated Chao character named Chaos. Speaking of Chaos... do Golems gain power by consuming Chaos Emeralds like the way Chaos did? Whatever the case, I don't think I should let the Emeralds fall into Eggman's hands...

"Maria, watch out!" I heard Sonic yell out to me as he pushed me against the ground, making me barely avoid on of the Golem's slashing attacks.

"Hahaha! Now see if you destroy that Golem now, Sonic!" Eggman said as he laughed like a uh... maniac... again... for whatever reason that's beyond Sonic and friends or anyone else. That is, until he was suddenly hit in the head by a rock that someone threw, "Who did that?!"

"It was I!" Merhea said as she did a strange 'it was I' pose, she then pointed at Eggman, "Evil Fatman has bad laugh, you're not Santa!" That caused everyone (even me) but the Pewter Golem to fall down anime style (even Eggman while he was still on his tiny hovercraft).

"Merhea!" I said as I got up (I could've sworn that I had an anger mark on my head), "What made you think that he's Santa Claus?!" I was asking her this with comical anger as I shook my right hand in a twitchy-like manner.

"I thought he was a Santa wannabe!" Merhea said as she narrowed her eyes a little.

"What?!" all of us heard Eggman cry out, "I am **_NOT_** Santa! Because all I get for Christmas is **_COAL_**!" I had a 'Say what?!' kind of look on my face, as did everyone else. I find this odd, because I didn't even know the Sonic universe even celebrates Christmas. Then again, I do remember promotional artwork of Sonic and friends from the games (and sometimes the comics from what I've heard). So I guess that makes sense, then again... I've been wrong before...

My right red eye reacted on its own again, it kept urging me to attack the Golem. I kept resisting the urges until now, since I had somehow _wanted_ to end that Golem's life anyway. I let my eye take control as my body reacted and slashed at the Golem with my arm, damaging it. I then saw a fast blue ball (at least that's what I thought it was) quickly come over and rammed the Golem, damaging it even more. It was then I discovered that it was Sonic. Okay, note to self: whenever you see a fast blue ball, assume that it's Sonic. When I noticed that the Golem was about to attack again, I called out to Sonic to get out of the way. Unfortunately, his feet were suddenly bounded to a vine that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, pining him against his stomach, it was then too late to stop the Golem from hurting Sonic... I heard Merhea calling out to me, but I paid no attention, I have to save Sonic... I have to!

I then saw two sparkling things fly out from Sonic's quills, what were they?

"Oh no! The Emeralds!"

I saw Tails dash past me in an attempt to get the Emeralds that flew out, but two large metallic claws grabbed them just before Tails could reach out for them. I looked up and saw Eggman holding the two Emeralds, I froze in my tracks a little, without those Emeralds, Merhea and I will never get home!

"Eggman! Give those back!" Tails cried out as he flew over in an attempt to get to Eggman.

"Hahaha! You think you can catch me? Thanks for giving the Emeralds to me!" with that said he flew off.

"Get back here Eggman!" Tails said as he landed, hearing no answer, he then ran back to Vanilla and the others in order to protect them. I then turned my attention over to the Golem.

I saw Sonic actually having what seemed to be _fear_ in his eyes as he saw one of the Golem's clawed arms starting to loom over him...**_No!_** I'm not letting Sonic get killed like the way Mephiles from _Sonic Next_ had done. Because if Sonic dies... I don't know if he will be revived, even _with_ the power of the Chaos Emeralds... without someone like Princess Elise from Sonic Next... since those events in that game never happened... **_No...!_** I **_can't_** let Sonic get killed by that monster!

...

With all his might, Sonic tried to break free from the vines binding his legs against the ground. The Golem was slow, but even with that advantage, Sonic had actually _doubted_ that he'll be able to break free from the vines...

"Sonic!"

Sonic had his attention turned over to his friends taking shelter near Tails' workshop, he saw Tails and Vanilla trying to restrain Amy, who wanted to save him. Sonic was glad about that, for he didn't want Amy to get hurt. Despite her motives on trying to get him to marry her, Sonic still loved Amy as someone who will always be by his side no matter what. He remember that from the conversation he overheard from Maria and Amy... he then remembered Maria saying that Sonic would rather shoulder the pain himself, and that's what he was doing... He then saw the shadow of the Golem's hand covering him completely... cold sweat caked over his head as he closed his eyes, awaiting his death...

"**SONIC!!**" he heard Maria call out his name...

**_KROOM!!_**

**_SPLUCH!_**

Sonic felt something warm and wet get into contact on the left side of himself, from his face to his arm and part of his leg.

"**NO!!**"

"**_BIG SIS!!_**"

What...? What happened? Sonic said in his mind. He wondered... why were Vanilla and the others shrieking with horror? It had something to do with Maria, due to Merhea calling out for her. He partially opened his eyes a little bit and saw something red seeping into the ground near his left. He then fully open his eyes and looked at whatever was in front of him in horror... "...Oh... no..."

Maria was by his side, her crystallized arm was shown to have impaled the Golem. But that was not the thing that horrified him, he soon discovered that Maria herself was impaled as well, right though the chest and stomach... The warm and wet substance that got into contact on Sonic's fur and skin was Maria's own blood, causing him to shake a little.

"Maria... Why...?" Sonic could barely speak due to lack of words.

"Never again..." Maria then looked up at the Golem as she coughed out blood, "Will I let anyone die!"

Her crystallized arm glimmered in the afternoon as she began to stretch out her hand from within the Golem, cracks began to form around the Pewter Golem's body. It was about to move its other arm, but it's body had completely crumbled to pieces before it could do so. It's remains then blew away with the wind, leaving no trace of a Golem ever being here in the Mystic Ruins...

"_...Thank... ...you..._"

_Huh? What was that?_ Sonic thought. He looked at Maria, but she was breathing heavily as blood seeped through her clothing, normally one would have died instantly if he or she was impaled by something. Somehow... something was keeping her alive, Sonic just doesn't know what.

"...Ugh..." Maria let out struggling breaths as she stretched out her right hand toward the vines that pinned Sonic against the ground. She grabbed the vine that was holding Sonic's right foot and pulled it off from the root, freeing him.

"Maria, are you all right?! Say something!" Sonic tried to get Maria to say something as he noticed that Amy and the others ran over by their side. He then saw Merhea looking at her sister's bloody wounds with a horrified look on her face, he assumed that Merhea has a phobia for blood. Maria said nothing as she continued to breathe heavily, her emerald green and red eyes were losing their luster.

"Big Sis..." Merhea held on to her sister as Maria's blood began to stain her clothing, "Please... don't die... You promised you wouldn't leave me..." she then held on to her sister tighter, "Please! Don't leave me!"

Amy then noticed something, "Merhea... what that thing glowing in your backpack?"

"Huh...?" Merhea took off her backpack and opened it, she then realized what it was, "My present for Big Sis..." she took out something covered with a light sweater and unwrapped it as it was revealing...

"A Chaos Emerald!" true to Sonic's words, a dark blue Chaos Emerald was in Merhea's hands, "I can't believe it..."

Merhea held the Emerald to her chest, "Please... I wanted to give this to Big Sis... I wanted to surprise her with a reunion present... Big Sis... please... don't die... Huh...?"

The dark blue Chaos Emerald glowed brightly as it resonated with Maria's crystallized arm, the fingers of the clawed arm twitched as it feebly tried to move. As for Maria herself, her body was not moving, nor was she breathing. Her eyes had a cold blank luster as she had her hand tightly gripping into the vine that had previously bounded Sonic to the ground. Merhea, feeling a strange essence flowing from within her body, closed her eyes as she began to pray. She prayed to the Emerald for her sister to be alive, "Please... please be okay..." at that moment was when Maria's eyes have closed as her body went limp, which made everyone think that she had died...

"Maria..." Sonic couldn't believe it, for the first time... he had failed to keep a promise... His pounded his blood stained hands against the ground, "Dang it..." he muttered through his teeth, "I promised her... I promised her that I would get her home..."

The Emerald glowed again as it started to float away from her hands, much to everyone's surprise. Merhea opened her eyes as it glowed a glowing blue, she raised her arms in an angelic manner as her hands radiated a blue light. Her eyes showed to everyone else that she was in some sort of trance, she moved her fingers as it caused white-blue sparkles to rain down on her beloved sister, Maria. Slowly as the sparkles came into contact with her body...

"Her wounds are disappearing!" Tails exclaimed with amazement.

Merhea paid no attention, as Maria's wounds were disappearing, so were her crystalline features. After what seemed to be an eternity, the rain of sparkles stopped emitting from Merhea's hands, as well as the blue glowing lights that Merhea emitted from herself. She then shook her head a little as she snapped back to reality, "Huh? What just happened?" No one said anything as Merhea quietly picked up the blue Chaos Emerald, she held it close to her as she looked at her sister.

"Guys! She's breathing!" Amy said somewhat happily.

Sonic and the others looked at Maria as her fingers twitched a little and breathed a little, she grunted a little in pain as she opened her eyes. She took a deep breath as she sat up with ease, with difficulty, Maria tried to look around but...

"Guys?" Maria looked around in random directions, "Where are you? I can't see anything."

"Big Sis!" Merhea squealed a little in delight as she embraced her older sister, "You're alive!"

"Wha...? What's going on?" Maria asked to what seemed to be no one in particular, "Where is everybody?"

Everyone but Sonic laughed a little at Maria's confused actions, with a smile, Sonic now knew that his promise to Maria and Merhea still lives on. He then noticed that Maria's crystalline features had disappeared when Merhea was somehow able to heal her, he then wondered... How are they able to use these abilities? He went back to reality when he saw Vanilla taking something out of her pocket...

...

Why couldn't I see anything? What happened? Where's Sonic and the others? And why are they laughing?

Numerous questions popped into my mind as I sat there confused, not embarrassment or anything, just confused. I felt Merhea move her arms away from me as I felt someone else gently grabbing my hand, just like that time when I first woke up at Vanilla's house. I felt an object press into my palm as that person wrapped my fingers around it and released my hand, I felt the object and once again like before, it was my glasses. I smiled a little as I unfolded the frames and put them on, allowing me to see everything. I blinked a few times in order for my eyes to get accustomed to my more clearer vision, as I did so, I noticed that Merhea, Sonic, and all the others were in view.

"Uh... Hey guys!" I said as I laughed a little nervously, "What's shaking?"

"What's shaking is that you're alive!" Cream said as she laughed a little.

"Not only that, you're back to normal," Vanilla said as she pointed it out, "No crystalline features whatsoever."

"Really?" I looked at my arm. True to their words, my left arm was a completely normal human arm, "I guess so..." Still, I'm doubtful about me being back to normal, because I'm getting the feeling that I'm going to get those features again soon... I then noticed my clothing, "Oh man... My clothes are ruined..." like what I said, they were ruined because of my blood being there, "And we only bought these yesterday..." I sighed irritably.

...

"No need to worry, we'll get you some new clothing," Vanilla said as she gently went through Merhea's backpack, "I had a feeling that something might happen, so I asked your sister to pack you some extra clothes."

"Uh... Thanks... I think...?" Maria thanked Vanilla, she then whispered to Sonic, "Is she always like this?"

"Trust me, she's packed things that even we don't want to talk about," Sonic said as he whispered back, "Just be happy that she's almost always prepared."

"I heard that, you know," Vanilla said as she chuckled.

"Meh, whatever," Maria said as she shrugged.

After about an hour, as Tails went checking on the Tornado again for any faults, Maria (with difficulty) used the restroom in Tails workshop to clean off the blood that stained her body as she changed into her extra set of clothing. She then helped clean off the blood from Merhea's clothes, since they weren't stained as much, her clothes weren't ruined at all. Maria then placed the blood-stained heap of clothing in a plastic bag, not wanting to smell the blood that poured out of her body, she quickly handed it to Vanilla. Vanilla in turn then placed a bar of scented soap in it and rubbed it a little in an attempt to get rid of most of the smell.

Sonic left a while ago in order to clean off the blood from himself, he then came back about the same time later shortly after Maria finished cleaning herself. He had another pair of white gloves on, since he already burned his previous pair at the place wherever he was not to long ago.

"All right," Vanilla said as she looked at everyone around her, "We're going to have to burn these."

"Why burn them, Mama?" Cream asked.

"Because if someone finds these in a garbage heap, someone will think that we committed crime. It's only best that we burn it," Vanilla explained.

"... ... ... ... ..." Sonic muttered to himself about something, but no one noticed. That is, until Tails noticed something about him.

"Sonic?" Tails looked at Sonic in a quizzical manner, "You seem like you wanted to say something."

"Eh?" Sonic snapped out of his thoughts as he looked at Tails, "Nah, I'm fine," he then took the plastic bag containing the blood-stained clothes, "I'll dispose of this."

"You sure?" Maria asked as she looked unsure.

"I'm sure, I've got nothing else to do anyway," with that said, Sonic ran off somewhere, leaving a confused Maria behind.

...

Shortly as soon as he arrived in the middle of the Mystic Ruins, Sonic went to a clearing of nothing but dirt, but there were signs of a camp fire being here. This was where he was when he burned his previous pair of gloves. Sonic then placed the bag against the ground as he moved around to collect dry kindling, which was easy since this area was abundant of dry wood. After he collected enough, he placed them in the center of the slightly burnt area of the dirt, since that was the spot where a campfire was previously. Using a few flint stones he found nearby, he was able to light a fire within a few sparks. He waited for a few moments before he gently tossed the bag into the fire, before he did so however, he took out the pair of jeans that Maria had previously worn. Picking up a sharp rock nearby, with a little difficulty, he ripped off a piece of fabric from the jeans. He looked at the patch he tore off and saw that half of it was stained with Maria's blood.

"This..." Sonic said to himself as he looked at the piece of fabric that he tore off, "Will remind me to not make the same mistake again..." he closed his eyes as he swore to himself, "Never again will I fail to keep a promise..."

He tightly gripped the torn piece of thick fabric as he tossed the already ruined jeans into the fire and watched it burn...

...

**(End of the Sixth Crystal)**

...

**Authoress' Notes:** Yeah, that's right folks, blood is in this story. Thought that Maria S. Robotnik was going to die? _Wrong_. And yes, Merhea has discovered some new abilities of her own, but don't go bragging about it yet.

**References:** The part with Merhea using the alarm clock to scare Maria (like in the Second Crystal) was one of my favorite moments, I loved it so much that I made it bit of a running gag for the sisters (usually just to give out some comic relief).

From what I've heard from the Internet involving the _Archie Comics_ of the S_onic the Hedgehog_ series, it was said that Sonic was at least nine years old when he first took on Dr. Eggman (known as Dr. Robotnik at the time). I may be wrong, but if I am, sorry, I never read the comics. I can't even get to them anyway, since there's not a local comic book store in the area where I'm living. I was only able to get _Issue #190_ of the series (yes, I know, I'm far behind).

The part when Merhea called Eggman a Santa Claus wannabe was based off an actual joke that one of my friends made. When I playing _Sonic Adventure 2: Battle_ one time, she asked me: "Why does Eggman look like Santa Claus in a way?" In response, I said, "I doubt it, I bet all Eggman gets for Christmas is coal. Though I think he would've preferred propane or something..." We both cracked up on that.

The Golems were based off the Legendary Golems you see in the Pokemon series, however, the Golems here are much different from the Legendary Golems (composed of Regirock, Regice, Registeel, and their king, Regigigas) here. The Golems' origins will be explained later in the story, however, once again, I won't spoil you.

_Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)_ for the PS3 and Xbox 360 is also known as _Sonic Next_ by fans, in that game, Sonic was killed by a villain called Mephiles. However, he was brought back thanks to the Chaos Emeralds and Princess Elise. I've never played the game (since I don't have either of the consoles required to play it), I did, however, watch gameplay videos on YouTube. Since the events in the game were erased in the end, it never actually happened, so Sonic was never _actually_ killed at all in this storyline.

It has been shown in most media that Sonic can carry things within his quills, how he's able to do so is never fully explained. I often wondered how he's been able to do that, but I gave up on trying to find out how since I figured I might have needed that piece of info whenever I need a "storage" for Sonic to use. Seeing that he rarely uses bags, I figured that his quills would be the best practical choice. Wouldn't you agree?

The Comical Beatings and Rants of Doom was just something random that I thought up for no reason, it sounded pretty funny, so I added that in. And don't worry, you'll see Maria doing her CBRD quite a few times in the future.

...

If you like this, please leave me a review. It would really be nice of you to leave a review if you also put RotCG on whatever list you have, that way I'll know you've actually read this. Also, please don't ask me any questions regarding this story, no answer will be given.

Once again, I hope you enjoyed RotCG. If you didn't, then I'm sorry.


	7. Tornado Trouble and Extreme Gear!

My thanks to Namless Daydreamer for liking this story, same goes for BriMarie. I wonder though... is Thrash the Hedgehog still reading this?

Yeah, sorry for being late. I had this thing ready about two weeks ago, but my Internet Connections acting like an idiot. That, and that school's here (I'm a High School Junior, after all), so you won't see me here much. Just so you know, I only come here to post the fanfic, so don't ask me to get involved in forums and whatnot. Mostly because I'm not very comfortable with forums, mostly due to spammers.

...

**The Seventh Crystal: Tornado Trouble and Extreme Gear!**

...

I sat on the steps in front of Tails' workshop, more than once I did wonder why Sonic was the one who wanted to dispose of the blood-stained clothing that I previously wore, but I decided to drop the subject since I wasn't even expecting an answer from anyone in particular, still... I looked at myself again, like what Vanilla said, no crystallized features whatsoever. Does this mean that I'm back to normal? I wasn't to sure about this, because I still don't feel hungry at all, even from the breakfast that Vanilla made this morning, for which I only took at least two bites from that. I then had the feeling that I'm only better from the outside, and not from the inside. I then looked at my current attire. I was wearing a somewhat large dark blue shirt at least one size too big for me with somewhat long loose black sleeves that were almost reaching my elbows, I also wore another pair of dark blue jeans, which was a bit darker than my shirt. Thankfully, my regular black Men's shoes were still on my feet, because I didn't buy a new pair of shoes when Amy took me out shopping yesterday...

"Big Sis?" I looked up and saw Merhea standing in front of me while holding something.

"What is it?" I asked as I looked at Merhea. For some reason, her head was hanging down a little.

"I... wanted to give you this..." she held out the object in front of me, to my surprise, it was the blue Chaos Emerald from earlier.

"Wha...?" I sat there, surprised, I then looked back up at Merhea, "Why are you...?"

"I wanted to make this my reunion present..." Merhea said as she sniffed a little, she seemed to be on the brink of crying, "I didn't know that it was one of those Emeralds that everyone's after..."

I smiled a little as I gently took the Emerald from her and placed one of my arms around her, "It's okay, Merhea..." I said as soothingly as I could, "It's okay to cry if you have to..."

"But... I promised that I wouldn't cry..." Merhea said with her face buried in my shoulders.

"Yes, I know that," I said as I rubbed her hair with my free hand, "But I only made you promise me that whenever you're alone without me, remember?"

"...Um... no... I didn't..." Merhea seemed embarrassed to admit it, since she hugged me somewhat tightly.

I smiled again as I held her close to me, "It's okay Merhea, it's okay to cry if you have to..." it was then I felt something wet on my left shoulder, I sighed a little, "That's it... Just let it all out..."

"Eh-huh...!" I could hear Merhea sobbing from my shoulder, but I could tell that she was feeling better as she was doing so. I didn't say anything as I held on to her and the Chaos Emerald that she intended to give to me as a reunion present; it didn't matter about what was wrong with me right now, all I want to do for now is to make Merhea happy again. I held on her more closely as I had before, I can't lose her again, because we're the only ones left for each other. I have to make sure that we would get home as soon as possible, and with the help from Sonic and his friends, I know that we'll be able to get home soon... I then came into mind of how long we've actually been here. It's already been at least three days we've been in this world as far as I could remember; the first day had me being unconscious, with day two with both me and Merhea spending the night at Vanilla's house. Now, it's day three, with both of us near Tails' workshop.

"Big Sis?" I then noticed that Merhea had stopped crying.

"Yes?" I said as I smiled at her again, "Do you feel any better?"

"Yeah, much..." Merhea nodded in response, she then fingered the Emerald that was in my left hand, "I hope I didn't make you angry..."

"Angry about what?" I became curious at this, why would think that I would be angry at her for hiding a Chaos Emerald?

"I didn't know that it was one of those... Chaos Emeralds, I think...?" Merhea trailed off as I nodded at that, she then continued, "I... found it sometime before I met uh... Shadow and Rouge...? Um..."

"Yes, go on..." I gently urged her to continue.

"You gave me things to cheer me up sometimes... Um..." Merhea played with her fingers a little, "I thought that I'd give something in return, but..." she she buried her face within her hands, "It caused us so much trouble... That Eggman meanie even took the other Emeralds..."

"Hey, I'm actually glad that you didn't tell us about this Emerald before Eggman left," I said as she looked at me with a confused look on her face, "If you didn't, then Eggman would've taken this Emerald as well. Not only that, I might've actually been _dead_ if you hadn't revealed the fact that you had this Emerald before then."

"I guess you're right..." Merhea thought about it, she then looked at me again, "So... you're not mad?"

"Of course not, Merhea!" I said in a somewhat cheerful tone, "I'm actually grateful that you even thought about it, and with this Emerald that you found, we'll be able to get home soon enough."

"When will we ever get home?" Merhea asked as she cheered up a little bit.

"I don't know yet, Merhea," I sighed, "But I hope we'll get home soon enough..."

...

Meanwhile Sonic had to wait for at least half an hour (to his annoyance) for all of the blood-stained clothing to be reduced to nothing but ashes, he looked at the small hand-sized patch he tore off from Maria's jeans. Because it was halfway stained with her blood, Sonic knew that he has to be careful around those Golems in case he and the others encounter any more of those strange rock-like creatures, because they're more than capable of killing someone. Shaking the thoughts out of his mind, he put out the fire by kicking sand on it. Sonic then spreaded out the remnants of the burnt ashes across the ground, leaving it to the point of a campfire never being here. Putting the torn patch of fabric within his quills, Sonic started to run back to Tails' workshop. He remembered that he had forgotten to even thank Maria for even saving his life from that Golem, he couldn't help but feel a little bad about that, he then shook away the thought as he was already halfway there.

When he arrived back he saw Maria sitting on the steps in front of Tails' workshop as she had her arms around Merhea for something, it looked like that Merhea had emotionally broken down not to long ago. This troubled him a little, since he dislikes tears from other people. It was then he noticed that Maria was actually _smiling_ a little as Merhea was being a little upset, but he knew that Maria was just being her usual understanding self. In her hand was the blue Chaos Emerald that Merhea had found. Sonic remained still for a few more moments until Maria noticed his presense.

"Oh... Sonic, you're back..." Maria seemed a little surprised as she held on to both the Emerald and Merhea, "Is everything... okay?"

"...It's fine," was all Sonic said.

Maria let go of Merhea and told her to go play with Cream, Merhea obeyed and went inside the workshop. After moving to the side a little, Maria quietly asked Sonic over to where she was. Sonic did as he was asked as sat down next to her from her right.

"So... I guess they're all burned up now, right...?" Maria asked, which Sonic nodded in response, she sighed, "Man... and those were some good-looking clothes too. I often wonder why the shopping malls back at home don't even have such amazing clothes such as these..." she looked at her new shirt as she said this.

"Maria?" Sonic said before he could stop himself.

"Huh? What?" Maria asked as she had a confused/skeptical look on her face as she looked at Sonic.

"I just want say... thanks..." Sonic sighed a little, why does he feel so down about himself?

"For what?" Maria said as her face became that of something to '_What are you talking about?_' on her face, "Basically all I've been doing is me being a mindless and selfless dork who doesn't even think about the consequences in random parts of the future."

"Uh..." Sonic became confused at that statement.

"Yeah, that's right, Sonic, I'm just being myself and I'm proud of it," Maria said as she nodded and crossed her arms, "I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who's done things without thinking, that crazy action of mine almost got the both of us killed by that Golem."

"Uh, right..." Sonic said as he tried to understand Maria's strange usage of words, "Well, anyway... Thanks for saving me..."

"Eh, don't mention it," Maria said as she moved her hand in a 'wave off the concern' fashion at Sonic, "I guess we're even."

"At what?"

"You guys saved the both of us, so let's just say that I was only returning the favor," Maria then gave Sonic a thumbs up, "So... I'm cool with that."

"Yeah, I guess we're even," Sonic said as he nodded a little and stared off into the afternoon view of the ocean.

"You feeling okay? You seem a little down..." Maria said as she sounded a little skeptical, "If not shaken..."

"I guess that's it... I mean..." Sonic looked at his left arm, he could've sworn that he could just slightly smell a tint of Maria's blood from it, despite the fact that he cleaned it off.

"...You're not used to blood, aren't you?" Maria said as she seemed to have shuddered at this.

"No... That was actually the first time... that someone else's blood was ever spilt onto me..." Sonic said nothing else as he shook a little.

"It's always rough when someone's blood, especially from a friend or loved one, is spilt onto another..." Maria muttered as she hung her head down a little, "I've experienced that three times..."

"_Three_ times...?!" Sonic almost seemed to be on the brink of actually _freaking out_ for once.

"Yeah..." Maria sighed, "I usually don't talk about this but... It's happened to me every couple of years."

Sonic silently urged her to go on.

"The first time it happened, six years ago, I was only ten years old at the time," she looked up at the clouds in the afternoon sky, "My parents were away during that time, so I was staying with my grandmother from my mother's side during that time. During that day, she took me over to a shopping mall to pass some time, we don't actually shop there, we just look around. While I was waiting for her to buy lunch for the both of us, this... man suddenly came in and..." Maria shuddered, "...went on a shooting spree..."

"...Your grandmother was killed right in front of you, wasn't she...?" Sonic said this more like a comment than a question.

"...Yeah..." Maria sighed as she looked at the Chaos Emerald in her hands, "She died protecting me, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't even be here right now," she sighed when she saw Sonic's shocked expression, "Her blood got into contact with me when the bullet went right through her heart, barely missing me by at least inches... I don't even want to talk about the other times that happened..."

"I'm... sorry that you had to talk about it," Sonic grew even more concerned for her. Mostly because that she's been through things that she shouldn't even experience.

"It's okay, I think I needed to talk to someone else about this anyway," Maria sighed as she smiled a little, "You know... once Merhea and I go back home, we'll have to go through all of that again. But... I'm okay with that, as long as I have Merhea with me, I know that she and I will be able to live through our lives together once we go back home."

"Good luck with that," Sonic said as he stood up, "Come on, I think Tails is ready with the Tornado."

...

I put the Chaos Emerald away in the pocket of my light jacket as I followed Sonic inside of Tails' workshop, the inside was just like the inside of the workshop you see in Sonic Adventure. However, this place looked a bit bigger than I thought it would be. Still, at least it's not _cramped_ at all. I mean, seriously, Tails' workshop looked a lot like a cramped closet when you look at it from the video game. Maybe the physics have changed a little when Merhea and I came here? I guess I shouldn't worry about that, oh well... Still, I find it a pretty good place to be, so I guess I shouldn't be complaining.

"Well, how do you like this place?" Sonic said as he suddenly turned to me.

"Eh?" I looked down at Sonic. For some reason, I suddenly slapped my forehead, "Dang it..."

"What's with you now?" Sonic raised an eyebrow at me.

"It kinda feels _odd_ that I'm talking to someone that's barely over half my height, and you're basically around the same age as me," I had one of those '_I hate this_' black clouds within my head, "I mean, I'm even taller than _Vanilla_, and she's _older_ than me!"

"...You're the very first human I've met who's ever complained about that..." I could've sworn that I saw Sonic's eye twitching a little.

"Still, it feels kinda weird," I said, "You see, back where I'm from... I have a fair few friends who are taller than me, such as Lulubell and Andy."

"Who's Lulubell and Andy?" Sonic asked, interested.

"They're friends of mine back at home," I said, "I'll tell you about them later."

"Okay, so..." Sonic trailed off as he went back on topic, "How do you like this place?"

"How do I like it?!" I repeated in an excited tone, "This place is awesome! This looks just like the workshop back at my second cousin's place!"

"How many relatives do you even have?" Sonic had the '_What the heck?_' look on his face.

"As in living, deceased, or both?" I asked as I smirked within my mind. Just so you know, I always enjoy teasing people this way.

"Uh... The living," was all Sonic said.

"Okay... I remember there's..." I trailed off as I said the names of my living aunts, uncles, and cousins. I tell you, I have a lot of relatives, so many that I'll spare you the pain of knowing all of them. I saw Sonic counting as I remembering the names, when I was done, Sonic had a '_Are you serious?!_' look on his face.

"You have thirty-two relatives?!" Sonic said after he finished counting, I'm surprised he even bothered to count in the first place. Not only that, he was actually _patient_ when I said the thirty-two names. Him? _Patient_? Is the world ending already?! ...Nah, the world's not ending, I'm just goofing around in my mind for no reason.

"What? It's not my fault that the family tree in my mom's side is so large..."

"Oh, right..." Sonic said as we started walking to... the hanger of the Tornado, I think...?

"So what does Tails keep here?" I asked as I followed him, and for once, Sonic actually _ignored_ me! Well, I guess I shouldn't that surprising as we went into the uh... destination, I think...? Oh, whatever, I guess we are since I saw Tails with Merhea, Amy, and the Rabbits (as in Vanilla, Cream and Cheese). I saw something large covered by a large, thick gray cover cloth. It seemed to have the shape of what to be a uh... biplane, I think? Oh well, I'm not gonna bother to find out yet. Though it's most likely that it's the Tornado biplane that Sonic and Tails own. Still, I wonder what the Tornado looks like now?

"Aw man!" I heard Merhea groan a little as I noticed that she and Cream were playing a board game of some sort; apparently, Cream was winning, since her Chao named Cheese was chirping in excitement.

"What are you guys doing?" I just had to ask this. Obviously, they were playing a board game, however, which board game?

"Cream's beating me in Parcheesi, Big Sis," Merhea said, "I keep getting the wrong number, I'm suppose to get a five, not a six!"

I blinked in surprise, "Huh? I didn't know the Parcheesi board game exists here in this world..." I saw Sonic and his other friends giving me strange looks, "Never mind, in the world where we're from, Parcheesi also exists. Though I can't remember the origins of it..."

"I see," I heard Vanilla say as she nodded a little.

After a few minutes (which seemed to be hours for Sonic), the game of Parcheesi has officially ended after Cream claimed victory. Thankfully, Merhea's the kind of person who can take a loss when it comes down to games. I beat her all the time in most video games. Well, maybe except _Pokemon_, because we both play my _Diamond_ and her _Pearl_ game. We do this because we wanted to know who was the better Pokemon Trainer, only to find out that we're evenly matched. Wait a minute, why am I talking about _Pokemon_? This is Sonic's world, for the love of whoever's out there!

"Well, everyone," I went back to reality as I heard Tails speaking as he waled over to the thing that was covered, "Sonic and I have finished making the adjustments in the Tornado biplane." A biplane? Great! Now I'll find out what the Tornado looks like! I said nothing as I watched both Sonic and Tails pull the cloth off the Tornado, and I got to say, it looked amazing. The Tornado still had it's blue paint job, along with those symbols composed of Tails'... uh... tails... And no, the pun was not intended.

The biplane had what seemed to be a jet engine on its rear end, and I saw what seemed to a machine gun within the front below the propeller. I guess it was located there so that way, a bullet won't hit it's propeller by mistake. From my view, it looks just like an ordinary biplane, with it's design just like the one that was seen in _Sonic Adventure 2: Battle_, if not the same one. However, something tells me that it was not its biplane form that was modified. Huh... I guess Sonic and Tails modified and adjusted its other form... was it its combat form or super form? ...Oh, forget it... I don't think it even had a name anyway.

"Wow!" Merhea excitedly inspected the Tornado up close, "It's so pretty!"

"Thanks!" I noticed Tails blush a little, I guess he wasn't expecting any girls to give him compliments when it comes down to the Tornado. I guess it makes sense, because I don't recall any of the female characters from both the Sonic games and the anime _Sonic X_ to comment much about the Tornado. Then again, I didn't watch _all_ of the episodes of _Sonic X_, so I may be wrong. Like I said, I've been wrong before.

"I gotta say, Tails," I had to put in my opinion as well, "For someone your age, I bet that there isn't anyone else to rival your skills... Well, except Eggman..." I then noticed Tails and the others giving me a strange look, "What? Would you rather have me complimenting you or the Egghead?"

"Hahaha! Good one!" Sonic laughed as soon as I said 'Egghead.' Heh, I guess he and I are more similar due to our personality, and not our abilities and skills. I saw Tails roll his eyes a little as he had a laugh-like smirk on his face, I guess he was trying to prevent himself from laughing. Unfortunately for him, he was failing miserably, since he snickered a little.

"I'd rather have you complimenting me, thank you," Tails said as he wiped a tear of laughter from his eye, "After all, I've stayed up all night to get most of this done. Sonic only helped me on the finishing touches not long before you came here."

"Heh," I smirked at Tails before I looked at the Tornado again with my arms crossed with a look of interest in my face. From what I've compared with the Tornado you see in _Sonic Adventure 2: Battle_, if not _Sonic Heroes_, the newly modified Tornado here doesn't look that much different. Like I said before, I guess it was mostly it's other form that became modified. Whatever it is, I hope it's not another Transformer reject...

"So are you planning on testing out the Tornado, Tails?" I snapped out of my thoughts as I heard Vanilla say something to Tails.

"Yup," Tails nodded as he put his hand on the Tornado, "I need to see if it can transform flawlessly. I mean, what can go wrong?"

I instantly became worried as soon as I heard that, since my crossed arms hung loosely as I had a worried and skeptical look on my face. Without turning my head, I moved my eyes over to Tails. The main reason why I was like this is because of the old strange (running?) gag that sometime after someone says the '_What can go wrong?_' or '_What else can go wrong?_'... something does go wrong... I mean, seriously, does this happen almost all the time in movies and video games? Man, I can _never_ understand that kind of junk. I mean, whoever starting that strange gag was an idiot. What I mean is, is that the gag I mentioned earlier has happened so many times that it's actually predictable in almost every movie that's out there. Another main reason why I'm concerned is because we are in a video game universe, and the Sonic games does have the essence of that strange gag. But then again, it happens a lot in the real world too, so I guess I can't complain about that. I wonder though... do people in the real world even think about these kinds of things?

"Hopefully nothing, Tails," Sonic said as he jumped onto the Tornado's right wing, "Because I don't think you'd want to crashland near a beach like that time," he shuddered a little, "Man... I don't want to get chased by an orca again..."

"I know, Sonic, I know, I haven't forgotten about that," Tails said as he put what seems to be a parachute in the cockpit of the Tornado.

"Please be careful you two," Vanilla said as she, Merhea, Amy, Cream and Cheese moved out of the way and hid behind a clear (bullet proof?) lexam barrier.

"Yeah, and hopefully you won't crash," Amy said. I swear, I could've sworn that she actually _forgot_ to give Sonic his so-called present, since it was near the entrance of the workshop we were in. I would remind Amy of her present to Sonic, but I didn't want him to suddenly get distracted by something that could result into something awkward. So... I said nothing. As I moved out of the way and went behind the barrier as Vanilla and the other girls had done, I still didn't say anything.

"All right!" Tails said as he opened the uh... garage door? Oh, forget it, it might also be called hangar doors, but does anyone really even care? Well... maybe except those serious school kids, since they tend to make us feel stupid by correcting us of our usage of 'who' and 'whom'... But once again... I doubt anyone cares. Just like the ending credits you see in the end of movies and what not, with then going so fast? I bet the reason why most of those credits go so fast is because either they want to save time, or it's because that almost no cares to even read them... I'm going off topic in my mind again, aren't I? Oh wait, I am...

"Now let's make this a smooth takeoff!" Sonic said with an excited tone in his voice.

"You got it!" Tails said as he cranked up the Tornado engine. Thankfully... us girls are safe... I think...

"Clear!" Tails yelled out as the Tornado's propeller sprang to life, with it's blade already spinning at a high speed. Sonic, being the daredevil he is, clung on the Tornado's wing as he kept his footing. After about a minute, due to Tails checking numerous meters and status screens within the cockpit (at least that's what I think it was), the Tornado started to move forward slowly. I saw the palm trees on the sides of the runway fold down in order to clear a path for the biplane. I wonder though, are those trees even real or fake? Still, I think it's most likely that they're fake, since those trees don't seem to be damaged at all. Oh well, not that I really care anyway.

"_**WHA...?!**_" Merhea yelped and almost feel over as a small but somewhat shaking tremor suddenly occurred right in the middle of the dirt runway!

Hold on a second! In _Sonic Adventure 1_, that event happened when Sonic and Tails used the Tornado for the first time in the game in order to go chase after Eggman! I can't believe I forgot about that part!

I turned my attention back to the Tornado as I saw it already moving towards the runway as it began to take off, as I saw it take off however... I could've sworn that I saw something fall out from the Tornado's bottom. I wasn't quite sure though, since the others walked out from behind the barrier and partially obscured my vision for a moment. For once, I'm actually _glad_ that I'm the tallest person out of everyone here, because otherwise I might not have spotted it. At least... I _think_ I saw something fall out from the Tornado. Oh man... I've got a _**bad**_ feeling about this...

"Look at them go!" Cream said excitedly.

"Chao Chao!" Cheese chirped in agreement.

"The Tornado looks even more beautiful in the air!" Merhea said as she jumped in excitement.

"Looks like Tails has done a great job on the Tornado as always," Vanilla said as she nodded in agreement.

I still had that bad feeling within myself as I saw the Tornado still flying. I looked at the edge of the runway again, this time, I actually saw something laying in the dirt from a distance... but like I said earlier, I wasn't too sure, though. Then again, I might as well check; after all, better safe than sorry, right?

I started to run as I had that feeling of me being so... unusually fast again. I felt that feeling before, like the time when I dragged Merhea, Cream, and Cheese to safety before Eggman and those two Golem striked at us. Somehow, I was able to end of the runway (which was actually the edge of a big cliff) within seconds. I heard surprised shouts coming from the others in the hangar as I spotted a few... mechanical parts laying on the ground, I then kneeled down as I inspected one of them. I'll admit this, I'm no mechanical prodigy or expert like Tails, but I know most of the basic parts on most biplanes. As soon as I recognized the parts, my gut feeling was right, "...Uh...oh..."

Laying in front of me, were the parts for braking, a part for a wing rudder... and something else...

I have a gut feeling that's a part critical for its second form...

This is _**not**_ good...

...

Sonic still kept his footing on the Tornado's right wing as Tails continued to pilot it, "Phew..." Sonic sighed a little in relief to himself, "So far, so good."

"I'm gonna turn right now, Sonic," Tails called out to him, "So hold on tight!"

"Got it!..." not even questioning Tails, Sonic quickly gripped the edge of the wing as Tails turned left. Suddenly, the Tornado jerked a little, almost knocking Sonic off the wing, "Hey! Tails! What's going on?!"

"I don't know!" Tails seemed a little frantic, "Something must've gone wrong with the Tornado's turning capacity!" As soon as Tails was able to balance the Tornado balanced however, the radio that Tails uses as a communicator, went off with a somewhat frantic Maria yelling about something.

"Tails! You need to land somewhere, now!" whatever Maria was frantic about, it did not sound good.

"What's wrong?" Tails asked through the radio as Sonic watched the path in front of the Tornado and listened.

"Shortly before you took off, I saw a few parts from your biplane fall out. They were... uh..." Maria paused for a moment, probably to look at the parts again, "They were the parts for brakes, a wing rudder, and something else. Whatever the cost, do not do anything reckless, you need to land now!"

"What?!" Tails was shaking a little in fear, he then turned to Sonic, "Sonic, you need to get in the Tornado, now!"

Sonic did what he was told and climbed into the Tornado's rear seat as he buckled up. Usually, he doesn't do these safety precautions. But with the Tornado in the state it's in, he can't be too careful.

"What does the third part look like?" Tails asked through the radio again.

"It has a rectangular shape, it's pretty small, like about as big as my hand and..." Maria described, "It looks like a uh... some sort of power generator...? I don't know!"

"Ack! Oh no!" Tails then became truly frantic.

"What's wrong Tails?!" Sonic said as he listened to the radio from Tails' shoulder.

"The third part is the main balancer for the Battle Mode sequence!" Tails frantically explained, "Without that, we can't turn the Tornado into its Battle Mode form without the risk of crashing!"

"_**WHAT?!**_"

...

"Oh man..." I knew it... the strange gag runs even here. Great...

"We better find a way to get them down, and fast!" I noticed Amy becoming more and more worried. I shouldn't find this surprising; afterall, Sonic's still in the Tornado for crying out loud!

I turned back to the radio, "Tails, I've been through these kinds of situations before, so I may be able to help you on this," It was true, one time when I went with my great uncle and his older brother to the airport, they taught me numerous things about airplanes. So I have a little knowledge about airplane problems in the air thanks to them. Man... I never would've thought that listening to other people's advice, along with reading random books I find, would be this helpful for me. Seriously, thank you curious me!

"How?" I heard Tails ask through the radio.

"You need to keep moving forward and turn very slightly in any direction," I instructed, "In other words, you need to make one very big turn around without making the Tornado crash."

"May be you should try using the Tornado's other form, Tails," I heard Sonic say.

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said, "Because with those parts already missing, I don't think you should risk it."

"She's got a point," I heard Tails say.

"Sonic!" I yelped as Amy (unintentionally) pushed me to the ground and had her hand on the receiver, "You better get down here right now! Or else I'm going up there myself!"

"Amy, knock it off!" I heard Sonic yell out from the radio, "Now give Maria back the receiver!"

"Hmph!" Amy huffed a little as I got up and gently took the receiver from Amy.

"Ow..." I groaned a little as I took a breath, "Maria here..."

"Are you okay?" I heard Tails say.

"If you don't count the part with my head hitting the concrete floor, then I'm fine," I said as I rubbed my head, "Augh... My aching head..."

"She's fine..." Sonic said, I guess he knew I was being sarcastic... or not...

"Whatever, just do what I said earlier and land the Tornado somewhere," I said, "Preferably a large field or something..."

"There's nothing but forests around here, Maria!" Sonic said, "We'll have to use the Tornado's other form in order to land!"

"But that might make it worse!" Tails exclaimed frantically.

I put down the receiver and handed it to Amy without a word, as I was ignoring Amy frantic words for Sonic (I'm not even going to bother saying them), I looked around to see if there was something I could use. Most of the things that were here were machines still in development, making them useless until they're completed. I then saw a small door, I wonder... is that a storage room? My question was instantly answered as I opened the door, in front of me, laying against a shelf near the left of the entrance... was a white and blue air board... Hang on! I remember this! This is Sonic's Extreme Gear, the Blue Star from both of the _Sonic Riders_ games! Now this can prove helpful!

...The only problem is... I don't know how to use it...

I won't let that stop me, though. I quickly grabbed the Blue Star and a nearby blue helmet, I gathered the missing parts earlier along with a small toolbox and placed them in a large yellow rough leather bag. I then ran outside with my so-called newly gained speed as I heard a few yells of surprise coming from Amy and the other girls (probably Cheese too, but I don't know), I looked up in the sky and could barely see the Tornado high in the air. I remembered that in the games of _Sonic Riders_, the boards that the Babylon Rogues had were able to be used anywhere and not just the ground in the first game's cutscene. I wonder... does Sonic's Blue Star possess the same ability? Well... only one way to find out...

I put the helmet on, which to my surprise, it fits my head perfectly. But that doesn't matter, right now, I need to find a way to direct the Tornado somewhere so it won't crash. If I'm not able to do so, I could at least try to save both Sonic and Tails. Afterall, even though everyone here besides Merhea and me are video game characters, they still deserve the right to live. Especially after what all they've done for both my sister and me, I know I need to keep returning the favor for them. I tried to remember... how did Sonic board this thing...? Well... I remember him taking a few steps back, then running forward as he threw the board in front him and jumped on. Oh well... I guess I'm going to have to do the same... I started to move back a few steps with the board in my arm, just like the way Sonic would in the games. I took a deep breath and then raced forward...

"Maria!! what are you doing?!" Amy yelled out to me, however, I ignored whatever else Amy was saying.

I continued to run forward as I felt that flowing sense of increased agility coming from within my body. With liquid grace, I threw the Blue Star with incredible ease and jumped on it perfectly. I felt no sense of difficulty as I rode the Blue Star, it was actually so... _incredibly easy_! It's just like as if you're riding a skateboard, only it's much more... more _fluid_! An excited grin made its way to my face as I raced forward, I felt the warm wind going through my long red-brown hair. I then noticed that I was getting closer to the Tornado, but I was still on the ground as the Tornado was still up high in the air. I then wondered... how can I get the Blue Star to actually fly in the air? I mean, sure, it hovers above the ground, but that doesn't count as flying in my opinion. So then how...? Ugh...! I stomped a little on the front of the airboard in frustration.

"_**WHOA!**_" I almost lost balance as the airboard bucked upward a little, then it hit me... "Sweet!"

I stepped on what seemed to be a hidden switch, I guess Tails designed it so that only as little as a toe could activate the Blue Star's "Air Rider" mode as I call it. Pressing the switch after I regained my balance (gently this time, idiotic me!), the Blue Star moved upward, making me flying around the air! Sweetness!

"_**YAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**_!!"

...

Sonic and Tails jumped a little as they heard someone yelling excitedly as something zoomed past by them, looking to his right he saw someone riding on his Extreme Gear, the Blue Star!

"Isn't that Maria?" Tails questioned.

"Hi, Sonic! Hi, Tails!" a girl's voice rang out to their ears as the person waved at them with both arms.

"No doubt about it... it's Maria," Sonic said with a bored look on his face, but then realized with a jolt, "Hang on a second! How does she know how to ride Extreme Gear?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Sonic..." Tails doubted on this, though.

Maria quickly flew from below the Tornado, making Sonic and Tails unable to see her.

"Just what is she up to...?" Tails said to himself.

...

Um... Uh... Uh oh... This is complex...

I looked below the Tornado and saw obvious signs of parts that had fallen off, I then flew up beside the Tornado so that Sonic and Tails could see me. Sonic motioned me to come closer, I hesitated a little, but I was able to avoid hitting me the Tornado.

"Yeah?!" I yelled out to Sonic and Tails in order for them to hear.

"Why are you riding my Extreme Gear?!" Sonic seemed uh... I don't know, either he's surprised or a little angry, but... I guess it's both.

"No time for that!" I yelled as I took out the third part that I mentioned to Tails and handed it to Sonic.

...

Sonic took the missing part and tool bag from Maria and handed them to Tails.

"Sonic, what are you...?" Tails was cut off by Sonic.

"You repair the Tornado," Sonic said as he took the pilot seat, "I'll take control."

"But if I try to repair it while the motor's still running..."

"Try to gain as much altitude as you can!" Tails heard Maria yell out, "That way Sonic can make the Tornado slowly glide downwards while you're installing that part!"

"O...okay...!"

Though he was reluctant, Tails slowly moved towards a compartment hidden from below one of the Tornado's passenger seats. He opened it with a little difficulty, but he managed. The noise coming from the Tornado ceased, signaling Tails that Sonic was now making the Tornado glide. Rushing a little, Tails somewhat quickly installed the vital part for the Tornado's other form, having to stop every few seconds in case he made a mistake. After all, he didn't want to make any other parts somehow falling off again.

"Hurry up, Tails!" Sonic seemed a little frustrated, "Ugh...! We've only got about less than a minute left!"

"I'm working as fast as I can!" Tails said as sweat beaded on the side his furry face, "Um...! Uh...!"

"Tails!" Sonic silently urged the Tornado to stay as steady as possible.

"Uh...! Ah...! Uh..." then Tails connected the final cord, "Got it!"

"You did it?" Sonic asked as he handed Tails back the pilot seat.

"Yep!" Tails nodded as he took the controls, he then turned to Maria, who was still riding on the Blue Star outside, "Okay, Maria! Get back!"

"Got it!"

Maria said those words with a thumbs up as she flew backwards quite a distance away. As she was doing so, Tails pressed a few buttons.

"Okay!" Tails then wrapped his finger around a slide-like switch, "GO!!"

...

Hmm... Okay... What's gonna happen now?

A loud, somewhat ear-piercing whistle blew out from the Tornado's engine. Wait a second... ear-piercing? ...Ack! I made a unintentional pun! I don't want my ears pierced! Okay... maybe _**that**_ was the unintended pun... Whatever... back to the plot... I covered my ears as I balanced on the Blue Star and saw the Tornado beginning to "Transform." Just as I expected, after seeing the Tornado transform into something within thirty seconds... It again, looked a lot like a Transformer reject... Hold on a second, why am I talking about the X-Tornado from _Sonic X_? We're in the video games, for crying out loud! Oh, forget it... Transformer reject or not, as long as it will save their skins (or hides, your pick), I guess I shouldn't complain...

It looked a lot like the battle mode thing from Sonic X, however... It didn't have that sword function thingy, at least... I don't think it does, it could be hidden, but how should I know? Bah! I hate it when I can't describe these things to you guys! ...Hold on a second... Why am I breaking the fourth wall? Wait... I've been doing that since the First Crystal, or was it Chapter One?

...Oh, forget it...

The Tornado's second form flew towards the opposite direction it came from, which in this case, is towards Tails' workshop. I turned around myself as I pretended to race against the Tornado for no reason, I guess I just wanted to have some fun, but I wasn't too sure. Well... I don't care, at least it's fun. Also, I will say this, Extreme Gear is awesome... too awesome if you ask me. For no apparent reason, I was just mindlessly performing a few stunts as I was still riding the Blue Star. If you ask me, this is still just as easy (if not easier) whenever you're riding on an actual skateboard. I've been skateboarding a little ever since I was around eight years old, so... even though I don't much experience, I can still do a few simple tricks. Maybe if I ever get the chance, I could ask either Sonic or Tails (or possibly Knuckles if I ever see him again) to teach me a few stunts. Yep... that would sound fun.

Without any warning, somehow... I suddenly felt a little dizzy... like those times whenever someone has one of those dizzy spells... I tried to shake it off by shaking my head a little, but all it did was make it worse. Thankfully, I was getting closer to Tails' workshop, which means that I'm getting closer to land. I looked behind me and saw the transformed Tornado still moving without any problems whatsoever. My head suddenly felt like as if a curtain had been clouded over my eyes, I then became unable to bear it much longer. As soon as the Blue Star went over land, my body suddenly gave out as I fell off the Blue Star. As my body hit the ground, I felt the nearly forgotten helmet I was wearing fly off from my head. I then heard the Blue Star crash into something as I lost consciousness, before I blacked out however, I heard a few shouts from Merhea and the others...

...Dang it...

...

"Tails! Did you see that?!" Sonic said as he saw the now unconscious Maria against the ground as he saw his Blue Star crash into a thick tree... _literally_...

"You bet I did, Sonic..." Tails said as he made the Tornado land on its feet, then pressed a few buttons, which in turn made the Tornado turn back to its original form. Both Sonic and Tails quickly jumped out of the Tornado as they ran over to Maria's aid, with Merhea, Amy, Vanilla, Cream and Cheese already by her side. Vanilla had a First Aid kit with her in case Maria was ever to get hurt again, and now was the time to use it.

Maria laid on her right side as she was unconscious. Her sister, Merhea, was gently shaking her sister in an attempt to wake her up.

"Big Sis..." Merhea was the verge of crying until...

"I'm not dead!" Maria suddenly snapped as she somehow suddenly woke up and sat up.

"Are you all right, dear?" Vanilla asked as she checked Maria's pulse from her wrist.

"Eh... I'm fine..." Maria grumbled a little, "I don't know what hap-..." her voice was cut off as she froze.

"Maria?" Vanilla asked with concern in her voice.

"_**GHACK!**_" Maria placed her hand against her face as she coughed up blood again.

This gave Sonic and the others the alarm, Vanilla took out a thick rag from the medical kit as she placed it against Maria's mouth.

"Vanilla... I'm fine, really... Unh..." Maria said as her voice was muffled by the rag.

"You're not all right, you need rest," Vanilla said as she checked Maria's pulse again.

"Big Sis!" Merhea cried out with worry as Maria's body went limp.

"Oh no..." Vanilla then turned to Tails, "Hey Tails, didn't you once say that you keep a bed in the workshop?"

"There's two beds in the workshop," Tails said, "So we can make her rest there."

"All right," Sonic said as he picked up Maria with ease, despite the fact that she's taller than him, and carried her inside Tails workshop. After asking Tails to open a few doors for him, Sonic placed Maria on the somewhat larger bed. Vanilla then placed the covers over her as if she was tucking her in bed.

"All of you guys need to find something to do outside," Vanilla instructed, she then turned to Sonic, "Will you look after her while I get some cold rags?"

"Sure thing, ma'am," Sonic said as he gave out a slight grin and a thumbs up.

After watching Vanilla and the others leave (along with Vanilla carrying a somewhat protestant Merhea outside) the room, Sonic took a nearby stool and sat down next to Maria. He noticed that her glasses were taken off and were placed on the nearby nightstand, not having much else to do, he gently picked the glasses and examined them. They looked just like the regular glasses for near-sighted people, with it having oval-square-shaped lenses with a silver-golden frame. Sonic then looked through the lenses from a small distance away from his face and saw that numerous things looked a lot smaller than they actually are; of course, he wasn't planning on putting them on, since he doesn't need them. Putting Maria's pair of glasses back where it was, Sonic then thought over the things that Maria had done not too long ago. He wondered... how did Maria know how to ride Extreme Gear? He knew he was planning to ask her that as soon as she wakes up.

Maria's hand somehow slipped out from the covers as it hung limply from the side of the bed. Sonic then gently grabbed her hand with his right and placed it against her stomach in order for it to not be uncomfortable. He could've sworn that he felt something strange radiate from her hand into his, but he disregarded the thought.

"Poor kid..." Sonic muttered to himself, "I don't even know how she can even stand all of that... She got guts, I'll give her that..."

"I'm back Sonic," Sonic snapped back to reality and stood up as he saw Vanilla appear behind him, "Anything happen?"

"Other than her hand mysteriously slipping out from under the covers, she's fine," was all Sonic said in response.

"That's good," Vanilla then placed a cold rag on Maria's forehead as she took the stool that Sonic was using earlier, she then turned to him saying, "By the way... Think you can try to calm Merhea down? She's been crying like crazy ever since I took her outside."

"Why can't she just stay with her sister?" Sonic asked.

"Because Maria needs rest," Vanilla explained, "I'm sure she could use some peace and quiet, along with some alone time."

"Good point..."

Sonic looked at Maria again. With her having blacked out numerous times, and the time when she almost sacrificed herself to save Sonic himself, Sonic couldn't help but wonder if Maria can even bear that much undeserved punishment. Still, from what Sonic's observed, Maria seemed to have been able to do so, mostly due to her quirky personality and jokes. Speaking of which, he still didn't understand the "Let's do it to it" phrase that she spoke of during the time he first met her. Sonic then felt an unusual feeling welling up within his right again like before, but he decided to worry about it once he gets outside. As he did so, however, he saw both Amy and Cream miserably trying to calm down a crying Merhea as Tails looked on. Sonic, still having his natural dislike for tears, quickly walked up to Merhea and kneeled beside her.

"Hey, you all right?" was all he asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"I just want to be with Big Sis..." Merhea sobbed a little, "But Vanilla won't let me..."

"Your sister will be fine," Sonic said, "Right now we just to leave her alone and let her rest. Don't worry, Vanilla's taking care of her."

"Really...?" Merhea asked as she looked up at Sonic with tears still in her eyes.

"Really, really," Sonic gave out a small grin as he rubbed Merhea's head a little, making her giggle. Sonic then let out a slightly irritated grunt as he withdrew his right hand and rubbed it.

"Is something wrong, Sonic?" Cream asked.

"I don't know, my hand's been acting weird, though..." Sonic said as he flexed his right hand a little, "It's been like that ever since Vanilla asked me to look after Maria."

"Maybe it's some sort of cramp?" Tails shrugged as he asked.

"I guess..." Sonic said nothing else as he walked forward a few steps until he suddenly froze, with his right hand shaking a little, "Urk...!"

"Sonic?" Amy grew concerned as Sonic just stood there, with little to no motion at all.

"W...Wha...? ...Uhn..." without warning, Sonic suddenly collapsed to the ground. He heard shouts of concerned voices from his friends, but he was only able to make out them say his own name...

"SONIC!"

What... now...? was all Sonic said in his mind as his body went limp...

...and blacked out...

...

...

...

**(End of the Seventh Crystal)**

...

**Authoress' Notes:** Just so you know, I usually don't write people that are cursing. Instead, I give them my own version of cursing. For example, Maria (as do I) uses the word "junk" instead of "crap." This was usually added just to give Maria a somewhat unique trait in personality. And just so you know, this is **_not_** a pairing fanfic, and never will be. Also, it's kind of hard for me to portray Sonic's usual personality here as of now. But after the next few Crystals, this will pass.

I wonder though, does anyone even bother reading these references? Because most of the time, you might not understand most of the story if you don't read them.

**References:** The part when Maria said that her grandmother died protecting her was loosely based off of a paragraph from part of a novel I read long ago in school (though I forgot which one it was), I remember that it had a grandfather protecting his grandson from a shooting in the novel, which in turn costed him his life. Maria has suffered a few tragedies in the past, which of course, is partially the cause of her somewhat quirky personality. She also like to tease people whenever they ask a few questions, but not very often.

Sonic is known to be impatient, which caused Maria to joke about that fact after seeing Sonic _being patient for once_. The phrase "Is the world ending already?!" is a somewhat well-known phrase. I thought it would've been funny if I put that part in too.

Maria also pokes fun about the most obvious cliches that are out there, such as the "What can go wrong?" gag. Also, she comments the fact that the X-Tornado's second form (from _Sonic X_) looks a lot like a reject from _Transformers_. Just so you know, I have nothing against Transformers, I just have no interest in it. I can't help but wonder if there are other people thinking about these kinds of things...

When Sonic mentions about him being chased by an orca (which is another name for the killer whale from the dolphin family), he made an somewhat obvious reference about _Sonic Adventure_. When you play as Sonic on your first mission (which is to rescue Tails), around halfway through the stage, you will come across an insanely long white boardwalk. As you're running, you will be chased by an unusually large orca, crushing the boardwalk as it chases you.

The Blue Star is Sonic default gear from both of the _Sonic Riders_ games, as Maria had mentioned earlier.

And apparently... Amy has forgotten to give Sonic her present... poor Amy. And no, I have nothing against her, I just make her fail miserably on a few things just to add some humor.

Oh yeah, and here's a crazy and unrelated, but true fact!

Did you know that Mel Blanc, who is the voice actor of Bugs Bunny from _Looney Tunes_ was allergic to carrots? I was surprised when I found out myself, kind of ironic, don't you think?


	8. Golem Eyes

My thanks for the Namless Daydreamer for being the only person who actually bothered to leave a review here.

Let's see, Mariko-ai-chan has put RotCG into her favorites and alert list before this Crystal. And Drago Fateweaver has added this story to his/her alert list... If you're going to do this, at least leave me a review and tell me what you think, that's all I'm asking. Though I have to admit to Mariko, her "Nya" catchphrase is pretty cute.

So... enjoy this Crystal, though I have to warn you that RotCG does have a bit of horror in every few Crystals. Afterall, this is rated "T for Teen." (Darn those video game jokes...)

...

**The Eighth Crystal: Golem Eyes**

...

"Sonic!"

Amy was shaking Sonic in an attempt to wake him as she was getting more concerned by the second. No matter how hard she tried though (however, she was careful not to do it too roughly), Sonic remained motionless.

"Sonic, wake up, please!" Tails also became worried. Never has Sonic suddenly passed out like this, for the last time Tails remembered Sonic... Wait a second... he never saw Sonic passing out at all! Tails mentally slapped himself, what was he thinking? He knows that Sonic might need medical attention, whether it's needed or not. Tails then went back to his senses when he saw Amy pick up Sonic and carried him on her back.

"Amy, what are you doing?" Cream asked as Cheese was sitting on Merhea's head.

"We can put Sonic in that other bed," Amy said, "Because I don't want my dear Sonic laying against a cold, hard, dirty floor!"

"Um... good point..." Tails often wondered why Amy acts like this whenever anything bad has happened to Sonic. Then again, it wasn't _that_ bad. What Tails meant, was that even though Sonic is usually the one saving Amy, there were times when _Amy_ did the saving. And if Amy hadn't saved Sonic during those times whenever she did save him, Sonic wouldn't even be here right now. So... Tails guessed that he should be grateful for that.

Tails then decided to drop the subject as he and the others followed Amy, still carrying Sonic on her back, walk towards the inside of Tails' workshop as Amy called out, "Hey! Vanilla!"

"Yes?" Vanilla answered as she popped her head out from the room where Maria was, it was then she saw Sonic, "Oh my... What happened to him?"

"We don't know, Mama," Cream explained, "Just moments after he spoke with Merhea... he just... passed out..."

"Chao Chao..." Cheese said with a solemn tone in his voice as he started to hover off of Merhea's head.

"All right, we can put him on the other bed," Vanilla said as she lifted Sonic off from Amy's back with relative ease. Then placed him on the bed that was located from the opposite side of the bed Maria herself was in, speaking of which, she still hasn't come to her senses, "If we don't find what's wrong with either of them, then we'll have to call a doctor, got it?"

"Okay," everyone, except for Merhea, nodded in response.

Merhea ignored what the others were discussing something about what someone should do. She looked at her sister from her left, and saw that Maria's brow was moving a little. She wondered... was Maria frustrated or something...? Merhea then looked at Sonic from her right, and saw that Sonic's right hand was moving so slightly... his fingers seemed as if... they were twitching...

"...?" Even though it shows signs that something is wrong with both Sonic and Maria, Merhea said nothing, for she doesn't know the cause... Merhea then looked through Maria's jacket pockets and took out the Chaos Emerald she had given to her sister and looked at it. Merhea silently prayed to the Emerald for both Sonic and Maria to wake up soon, as soon as she prayed, however...

"What is that?!"

Merhea suddenly looked up and saw that both Sonic and Maria were being held and taken away within the cold stone hands of an unknown creature. Right in front of Merhea and Sonic's friends, showing that its body could go through walls as it disappeared with the unconscious duo...

A Golem... with a disturbing baby doll-like face...

...

"**_What is thiiiiiiisssssss? You're suppoooossssseeeeddddd to get the otheeeeeerrrrr human..._**" the main captor said nothing for a moment, "**_No matter... He will make some innnnnnnnteresting bait for theeeemmmm..._**" it said as it sang with a disturbing tone as one of the Pewter Golems was nailing one of the prisoners hands against a black coffin of death...

"No... Please... Let me go..." their prisoner pleaded as he was losing consciousness, unable to bear the pain in his mind and hands...

The prisoner's main captor didn't say anything for a moment as it sneered a disturbing tune, but spoke with a simple, yet disturbing, child-like voice...

"**_...I'll let you go when you're deeeeeeeaaaaaaad..._**" it said singing in a very low tone...

...

Darkness had consumed my mind again, I moaned a little as I tried to open my eyes. Instead of hearing the voices of Merhea and my other friends... why am I hearing sounds... that seem to be _clanking_...? I took a dew deep breaths as I opened my eyes; however, instead of me laying on a bed somewhere... I was leaning against some sort of wall in a world of darkness once again... It's just like the dark void that I was in before I met Sonic for the first time... After a few more breaths so I could actually get some oxygen into my system, I saw things coming into view... that I wished that I would never see... It looked like I was in a dark room, yet at the same time... it wasn't a room... I looked up and saw numerous disturbing things hanging on the ceiling... that only would a person so... _sadistic_ would possess...

Rusty, antique looking chandeliers bearing many somewhat lighted candles, were hanging by wires dripping and coated with old and new blood alike (which gave off a very rotting-like stench), staining cases that looked like coffins that were scattered almost all over the place. The coffins were scattered over the floor, a few were over the walls, and even a few of them were scattered over the ceiling... I was able to get a closer look on the one right next to me, with its lid leaning against it side, showing that it was empty. All of the coffins' cases were dark-gray to black in color, a white cross with two tiny unrealistic yet disturbing wings was decorated on the lid's middle, it somehow looked so horrifying that it could make a person have the urge to vomit after seeing this. I quickly counted all the coffins that I was able to see, due to the place being so dark, even with the light from the candles up above...

I struggled as I stood up against the wall, as I was doing so however... I saw that my left arm was crystallized once again, it still had my normal arm shape, though... With a jolt, I felt my face. I then sighed in relief, I felt no crystalline features around my face. However, I did notice that the bottom half of my hair had turned to a crystalline blue. Huh... I guess this time, only my left arm and part of my hair had decided to crystallize. I didn't mind though, because I might need it. Who _knows_ if I ever come across another one of those _Golems_...

"No...No... Someone... Help... me..."

I slightly jumped as I heard that... familiar voice... despite the fact that it sounded a little ghastly. Not wanting to waste any time staring at these sadistic like things scattered across the room, I started to follow the sound of the voice I was hearing. I have to hurry, because the owner of that voice seemed to be getting weaker and weaker each passing second. I seemed to have been running for what seemed to be hours, which in actuality they were mere seconds. I kept on running as I saw the numerous blood stained coffins zoom by, it was then I realized that I was going my... supersonic speed again...

**_Wait_**... hold on just a _darn_ **_freaking_** _minute_... It wasn't until now that I also realized that I wasn't actually going anywhere! So then where...?

"Tails...? Is that... is that you...?"

I jumped a little again as I heard the voice again. Strangely, he was closer that I thought he was... which means... Usually, I would just keep going, and not look back. However, there are times when you **_do_** need to look back. I took a deep breath as I felt the stench of blood run through my lungs, I ignored that blood-filled smell as I looked behind me for the first time I got here somehow.

"Uh...?!" I was literally frozen on my tracks, "No...!" I saw the one person I wasn't expecting to see. An old coffin was standing straight up, no wall nearby, with its lid bolted shut. However, that's not even the half of it... The person I saw, was on his knees with his eyes closed, and he looked really sick somehow. What sickened me... was that someone had literally **_nailed_** his hands with two large black cone-shaped nails. His left hand was nailed against the right side of the coffin, while his right hand was nailed against the coffin's front... This could explain the clanking sound I was hearing earlier, because... judging from his injuries... they were inflicted on him not to long ago. Wait a second... this scene didn't show up when I ran past that spot!

"Oh no..." I couldn't believe that this could happen to him... I cried out his name as I ran over towards him...

...

"**_SONIC!!_**"

_'Huh...? What...?'_ were the thoughts in his mind, _'Where... am I...? Why do my hands hurt...?'_

Sonic tried to move, but something restricted his hands from doing so. Whatever it was, it was painful, as if someone had nailed his hands against something... Sonic also felt nausea in his stomach, causing him to have what seemed to be a burning headache.

"Sonic, can you hear me? Wake up!" someone's voice rang into his ears as he felt a cool hand rest on his head.

"Tails...?" Sonic had to struggle a little in order to speak, "Is that you...?"

"No, Sonic," the person replied, which caused Sonic to actually lose hope for once, "It's me, Maria..." Sonic was then able to regain his senses as he realized with a jolt, he remembered Maria passing out shortly before he did, does that mean... they're awake...?

"Huh...?" Sonic opened his eyes as blurry vision accompanied his sight, "Maria... What's going on...? Why do my hands hurt...?"

"I'll tell you if you promise me not to freak out," Maria said as Sonic was beginning to see more clearly. He saw Maria with a somewhat worried, but sickened look on her face.

"It depends on what it is, but..." Sonic trailed off as he grimaced a little in pain, "I'll try not to..."

"Your hands are nailed against this coffin, Sonic," Maria reluctantly said, which caused Sonic to tense a little. When he was able to get a good look at his right hand, Sonic knew that Maria wasn't kidding.

"H...How...?" Sonic trembled as he witnessed with widened eyes on what had happened to his hands. After being silent for a moment, Maria slowly wrapped her fingers from her crystallized arm around the spike that had nailed Sonic's right hand.

"On the count of three, I'll pull this out. But I warn you, this will hurt," Maria said and saw that Sonic didn't seem too sure about this, "The sooner we do this, the better... Oh, wait... Hang on..."

...

With a little difficulty, I moved a little towards Sonic until my left shoulder was in front of his mouth, which I could tell it surprised him.

"What are you doing?" Sonic asked me in confusion. However, I didn't say anything as I made Sonic press his mouth against my shoulder, though it was a little difficult (I swear, he's got a big head due to his quills), "Mmph?!"

"When I pull this out, I want you to bite my shoulder," I instructed, "You might hurt your teeth if you clench them too hard, understand?"

"...O... Okay..." I could tell that Sonic was reluctant, I guess he didn't want me to get hurt in any way.

"Don't worry about me," I said with a somewhat reassuring smirk, "I had to do this a lot whenever I had to remove an arrow from a few of my friends back at home, they've almost become a few victims from criminals who use bows. Ready?"

"Yeah..." Sonic said as he set his teeth in place, still unsure if he should follow my advice.

"Okay..." I took a deep breath and exhaled as I tightly gripped the spike on Sonic's right hand with my right hand as I held on to Sonic himself with my left, "Okay... one... two..."

Moment of truth, people... dang it...

"**_THREE!_**" I somewhat shouted out as I was able to pull the spike out. Though I have to admit, it was really a _pain in the _**_neck_** due to me only being able to use one, and I mean **_one_**, arm (and it was my regular arm too...). As expected, as soon as I pulled out the spike, I felt the pain from Sonic biting me. I didn't mind, though, because having your skin punctured is actually better than somehow breaking your teeth. Afterall, skin heals within a certain amount of time. As for your teeth? Nope, you'll have to replace them with false teeth prescribed by a doctor, for teeth cannot heal. At least... I don't _think_ they do... Well anyway, back to the story... or plot... or... whatever. I felt Sonic relax a little as he let go of my shoulder (which was bleeding a little) as I heard him mutter about something.

"You okay, Sonic?" I asked in concern as I held on to his limp right hand. Dried blood was crusted all over his glove, not that I can blame him, the poor hedgehog...

"I don't feel so good..." I then heard Sonic spitting out something, "Ugh... that's the second time I've gotten into contact with your blood..."

"Well, you're gonna have to go through that a third time in order for me to pull out this other spike. Remember, third's times the charm," I said. I then thought to myself, I wonder why Sonic seemed so down ever since I went on that rampage for the first time... Could it be that... he somehow _fears_ me? I mean, from what I've known about him when I've played most of the Sonic video games back at home, he only fears water or that one of his friends is pitted against him. Maybe he's different in this world? Well... I'll have to worry about **_that_** later. Ignoring the pain that was somewhat building up in my left shoulder, since I can't let Sonic bite into it a second time, I moved around Sonic and set myself. I made sure that Sonic would be able to bite into my right shoulder this time, knowing that everything was all set, I tightly gripped the nail pinning Sonic's left hand with my left crystallized hand.

"I'm ready..." I heard Sonic say as I felt his already injured right hand somewhat tightly gripping my right arm. He's got guts, I'll say that.

"All right..." I took another deep breath and made sure that I maintained a tight grip on the spike, "One... two..."

Sonic's closed his eyes and braced for it...

"**_THREE!_**" this time, I was able to pull the spike out from both the coffin and Sonic's left hand with ease. This actually proved to be less painful for Sonic, since he didn't nearly bite my right shoulder as hard he did on my left. Thankfully, my shoulder didn't draw out blood when Sonic bit it this time. That way, I won't have to worry about him become uncharacteristically afraid of my blood. I mean, what am I? A were-something? Yeah, right... then again... I don't want to be an Akuma, since their blood can kill others... Ugh... Hold on a second... Why am I saying an evil spirit in Japanese? Oh, forget it... I then turned back towards Sonic, "You all right there, buddy?"

"Calling me your buddy now, eh?" I was barely able to see Sonic smirk a little.

"What? Are you saying you're wanting me to call you either Olgilvie Maurice or Skippy?" I smirked back at him.

"Olgilvie Maurice?" Sonic raised a brow, "Uh... That's... an odd name..." he then seemed paused for a moment to think before he said, "And no, I don't want to be called either that or Skippy."

"Heh heh heh, I thought so," I said with a smirk still on my face. Gripping my left shoulder, which was still bleeding, I slowly stood up, "Can you stand, Sonic?"

"I... don't think I can... I can't move my legs..." Sonic said as he hung his head a little, looking at his wounded hands that were crusted with dried blood. My eyes widened a little, because I was not expecting Sonic to say anything like this. Then again, maybe I shouldn't have expected Sonic to just suddenly feel better. I mean, he's lost a lot of blood because of his hands being nailed against a coffin! I am such an idiot... I looked down at Sonic again and saw that his legs also had a few wounds on them, I guess that explains why he said that he wouldn't be able to stand. Well, I only have one option left.

"Sonic," I crouched with my back in front of him, "Get on my back, I'll carry you out if I have to."

"I don't know..." I could tell Sonic was reluctant to accept my help, "I mean, what if I'm too heavy for you?"

I had a somewhat smug-like smirk on my face, "How much do you weigh?" I simply asked.

"Uh... Thirty-five kilograms," Sonic said with an honest answer.

"And to convert that to the weighing terms that I use back at home," I said as I smirked a little, "Thirty-five kilograms, then that means you weigh seventy-seven pounds."

"How do you know all of this?" Sonic gave me a somewhat skeptical look, apparently somewhat forgetting the pain he has from those injuries of his, which is good enough for me.

"I read books, Sonic," I nodded a little, "I read books that are randomly scattered about back home. Not only that, I've carried people that are twice as heavier than you."

"Oh..." I got Sonic speechless once again. Heh heh heh...

"Okay. Sonic. Back. Now," I said straight to the point as I pointed at my back.

I waited patiently as Sonic slowly wrapped his arms around my neck. Then, with relative ease (due to Sonic being barely over half my height), I lifted up Sonic and carried him on my back. I've gotta admit that Sonic was actually lighter that I thought he was, then again, Merhea was at least ten to fifteen pounds lighter than him. Either that, or it's because I've been lifting too many weights back at home again...

"Comfy?" I said as I saw that Sonic had rested his head against my left shoulder, which was still bleeding a little.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Sonic mumbled a little as I started walking. I guess Sonic's a little embarrassed that for once this time, Sonic was the one who needed to be carried by someone, instead of the other way around. I smiled a little to myself with a small quiet hum, for I know exactly how Sonic feels. You see, since he has a love for running and speed, he basically considers his legs as his heart. And for him to suddenly not being able to even walk after those injuries of his, you can bet it's hit him like a ton of bricks.

I then realized with a jolt... that even now I've been walking forward for a few minutes, it seemed like hours. Another thing I've realized with yet another jolt is that we don't seem to be getting any where...

Just...

Where **_are_** we...?

"**_KYAAAAAAA!! NNNNOOOOOOO!! THEY'VE ESCAAAAAAAAAPPPPPEEEDDDDD!!_**"

Both Sonic and I jumped a little as soon as we heard that child-like... yet _very_ disturbing voice... We looked at each other, then at the pathway we took behind us. All we saw were the coffins and blood-coated wires that were scattered all over the place. However... there's one thing I'm wondering...

"Hey, Sonic..." I muttered without taking my eyes off the area behind us.

"Yeah... I heard it too..." Sonic's body tensed a little as I could feel his arms tensing around my shoulders, "We better find a way to get out of here... and fast..."

"I agree..." I muttered. Because judging from that child-like screaming from earlier, we'd better get out of here... before somebody kills us... Suddenly, I tensed a little. Mostly because I may have realized something.

"What's wrong?" Sonic asked me over my shoulder.

"Sonic... Do you think..." I turned to Sonic as I still laid my eyes on the pathway behind us, then at Sonic himself, "That we were captured somehow... by Golems?"

Sonic's eyes widened a little as he moved his head a little in order to look around, "That could be it, but... all I remember before I woke up here... Um..." he paused as he tried to remember something, "I was talking to your sister, then my hand was acting a little weird. Shortly after that... somehow, I blacked out. After that, um... I remember that... voice from earlier... That voice said that it would only release me once I'm dead or something, but... I don't know..."

I gently held on to Sonic's right hand without making Sonic slip off from my back. To me, it looked perfectly normal, except for the dry blood. However, I noticed that Sonic was quivering a little, as if he was getting weaker by the second. Oh man... I better find a way out of here before... before... Just then Sonic's body went limp.

"Uh...!" I thought Sonic was dead until...

"I'm okay..." he muttered, "Just... tired..."

I relaxed a little in relief, but then tensed as both Sonic and I heard something moving behind us as it shook the ground a little. Even though I'm sure we wouldn't be going anywhere even if I ran, I know we can't get caught by these things. I then started to run until...

"**_THERE THEY ARRRRRRREEEEEEEE!!_**"

That disturbing child-like voice again... both Sonic and I were able to find our so-called captors chasing right behind us... The ones that were chasing us were indeed Golems, as we have speculated earlier. The one that screamed earlier was a Golem that looked different from most of the other Golems, a few of them were Pewter... but what were the others called, including the one that screamed? I took to the fact that the one that screamed was the leader of these group of Golems, which I guessed that most of the others were either just bronze or possibly silver. I don't know, for I'm no rock expert.

The golem that screamed looked like it had a face similar to that of a baby puppet doll, it's "purple-black hair" looked like as if it was hurriedly glued onto its head. It had a dirty shining yellow rock-like body, similar to that of pyrite. Long, black skinny arms with white large hands reached all the way down to the ground, which was understandable since it was running like a spider. It had six, thick strong legs that shared similar design to that of its arms. As I was running, I was able to get a better look at the puppet Golem's face. Numerous stitches were seen all over its face, its blank black and white eyes that resembled a target for darts remained wide open as it stared at us. I swear to the ones above that this Golem's gazing can _literally just pierce into your mind_!

"Wh... wha...?" Sonic could barely get any words out from his mouth as the Golems were still chasing us. I don't know why, but... I was somehow running super fast again. Well... maybe not as fast as Sonic's speed, but this will have to do for now. Because it's providing me just enough speed to evade the Golems and prevent them from hurting Sonic. Sure, this scene may one of those cliched "_rescue the main hero and find your way out_" moments, but does anyone really care about this right now? Because I don't!

"**_WAUGH!_**" both Sonic and I yelled out as I was able to jump just high enough to avoid a bullet that could've hit Sonic in the head. Knowing this, I have to be careful, because I can't afford any mistakes. For any mistake I might make could cost Sonic his life, possibly even my own. I quickly glanced behind me with Sonic still clinging onto my back. It was then both Sonic and I saw that the Golem with the puppet head having what seemed to be a gun hidden in its mouth, which we could tell due to the smoke coming out from the barrel hidden behind the stone cold lips...

"**_YOU WON'T BE GETTING AWAY THIS TIIIIIMMMMMEEEEE!!_**"

The Golem with the puppet head open its mouth again...

..._and fired right at us_...

...

High up in the sky, was a floating island that was once part of a old mystic historical ruin. A pyramid-shaped altar was located in the middle of the island floating in the sky as it was surrounded by lush tropical trees of many kinds, possibly hundreds, if not thousands of years old. Located on the top of the Pyramid altar was a large, emerald-green colored jewel as it glistened with the sunlight. Sitting in front of the large emerald was a red echidna, who was sworn to guard it from danger with his life. Knuckles the Echidna, the guardian of the Master Emerald, resides here in Angel Island.

"Hmm..." Knuckles slowly hummed to himself as he played with a few pebbles by flicking them with his thumbs to pass the time. Occasionally he would look around where he was sitting in case anyone tried to steal the Master Emerald. However, mostly... Knuckles was always on the lookout for Rouge the Bat, because she's tried to steal the Master Emerald more than once. Other than the fact that he's guarding the Master Emerald, there really wasn't much to do around Angel Island. Knuckles didn't mind though, since he prefers to be alone anyway.

"I wonder how those two girls are doing..." Knuckles muttered to himself. Even though it's only been three days since he first met the girl that could crystallize herself, Maria was in terrible shape when he first saw her. Knuckles wasn't able to see how she was a normal person after he saw her like that. As for Merhea, he wasn't too sure. Though he was positive that she might have strange abilities as well. Knuckles was sure of it because he could feel what seemed to be Chaos Energy radiating from their bodies, especially Maria's, though he thought it was because of her crystallized state. Knuckles then snickered to himself after remembering the way Maria ranted at Rouge... and forgot about it not long afterwards. Still, he _did_ wonder what made that girl have such a quirky personality...

"I hope she'll turn back to normal so-..." Knuckles' words were cut off as he heard a loud crashing sound in front of him, "What the...?!" Smoke billowed from the middle of the staircase near Knuckles, what he saw shocked him as soon as the smoke cleared...

A brunette-haired human with a familiar blue hedgehog...

"What...?" Knuckles stood there with shock as he saw Maria holding on to an injured Sonic tightly around her right arm, with her holding something sharp in her crystallized left. A black cone-shaped spike was still smoking a little as if it had been recently shot from a gun. Not wasting any time, Knuckles ran over to their aid, "Hey! Are you guys okay?!"

"K...Knuckles..." Sonic could barely speak as he struggled to stay conscious.

"Sonic! Your hands...!" Sonic's body shook a little as Knuckles started to speak, he then looked at the spike in Maria's hand, "Maria, what happened?"

"Ow... Knuckles..." Maria also struggled to speak as she dropped the spike, "Run..."

"What?"

"Run! Run before the Golems get you!"

"What are you..." Knuckles was cut off by a familiar shattering sound, which stunned Knuckles to the core of his body as soon as he heard it... He slowly turned his head towards the direction of the altar where the Master Emerald was kept, "Oh... no..."

"**_KYAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!_**" the disturbing laugh from a Golem with a baby doll-like as it stood above the altar as it was supported by its six legs. In its right hand was a familiar green shard, the Master Emerald has shattered once again... "**_YOU WILL PAAAAAAYYYYYYY FOR ESCAPING MY TURRRRRRRFFFFFFF!!_**"

"What is that thing?!" Knuckles yelled out in shock, anger, and even in fear as he saw that the Master Emerald has shattered again. From what Knuckles could see, the only shard of the Master Emerald he was able to see was the one that the Golem was holding right now. Knuckles couldn't believe this, he couldn't believe that the Master Emerald has shattered again. As far as he could remember, the other times he remembered the Master Emerald shattering, was when Eggman broke it in order to free the mutated Chao named Chaos that was sealed and trapped inside along with its friend, Tikal the Echidna. The other time it shattered was when Knuckles himself had to shatter it in order to prevent Eggman, and possibly Rouge since she was there during that time, from stealing it. Now it shattered again because of the Golem that was after Sonic and Maria for some reason that's beyond Knuckles.

"It's a Golem..." Maria breathed out as she coughed up a little bit of blood from her mouth, "Knuckles..." Knuckles quickly turned and saw Maria standing up with Sonic, still in his severely injured state, in her arms, "Be careful... That thing is capable of killing anything..."

"What are you...?" Knuckles was cut off again as Maria handed Sonic over to him, despite Sonic's protests that were too quiet to hear.

"Get him..." she took a deep breath, "to safety... I'll hold that thing off..."

"What about...?"

"I don't care what happens to me!" Maria yelled at Knuckles with tears in her eyes, "As long as everyone important to me is safe..." Not even bothering to finish her sentence, she pushed Knuckles and Sonic off the altar...

...

...Dang it...

I instantly regretted pushing off Knuckles with Sonic in his arms, but I can't let Sonic die. I mean, sure, despite the fact that he's one of my favorite video game characters, Sonic deserves to live. Though there is one thing that's been bugging me, though, ever since I've somehow gotten myself separated from Merhea. I've been acting like like a guardian for Sonic or something, I mean, what choice do I have? After I saw Sonic in that state when he was nailed against that coffin, it made me realize that Sonic can be a glass cannon sometimes. With that said, he's just as vulnerable as humans like me and Merhea. Well... I don't know about me due to my crystalline features, but...

"**_You'rrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeee very braaaaaaaaaaaaavvvveee, little girrrrrrrrllllll..._**" the Golem sneered as I turned to it. I swear, that thing is almost ten times my size, but that doesn't scare me... or does it? Bah, I don't know.

"Eh heh heh heh heh heh... Me? Brave?" I laughed a little sheepishly, "Nah... I'm just being the mindless and selfless dork I am."

"**_Well said..._**" the Golem gave out an evil yet childish chuckle as my left arm began to tremble a little.

I may not know much about my newly gained abilities, but I pray to the ones above that I would able to use them properly now. I began to regret the fact that I chose to fight this Golem alone, but I instantly discarded the thought. I chose to be a Guardian Angel for Merhea and anyone else I care about, this time... it's Sonic's turn. My left arm raised on its own as it radiated a glowing light blue aura, as soon as I began feeling my right eye crystallize, however...

"**_NYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!_**" the Golem screamed what seemed to be in delight as it pointed at me.

"What...?" I don't understand... why is that thing so... excited...?

"**_So that's where it's been hiding this whole tiiiiiiiiiiiimmmmmmeeeeee!!_**" it laughed again as its head rattled, "So you're the next Human Crystal Golem!!"

"H... Human... Crystal... Golem...? It...? What...?" my eyes widened as I spoke these words. What is that thing talking about...?

"**_Now this gives me a reason to kill yoooooooouuuuuuuu!!_**" It then charged at me... I instantly dashed out of the way in order to avoid getting crushed, I now realized that I should try not to be flat as a pancake... Wait a second... that's to cliche... Oh well, can't think of anything else to describe it. As much as I would like to know what that Golem was talking about, I figured it would better if I could destroy that thing first. But seriously, a Human Crystal Golem? I remember Sonic saying something about Golems... maybe I'll ask him one I get the chance to do so, either that or else I'll forget due to my somewhat short-term memory. Meh...

"Uwah... M... my eyes...?" I took off my glasses as soon as the crystallization over my right eye had ended. Oddly, whenever my eye is crystallized, I can see clearly as day! Oh well... I then put my glasses in my pocket, that way I won't worry about losing it.

The Golem lashed its left free arm at me numerous times, there were some close calls as I dodged them, but I was getting used to this thing's way of combat. Hmm... I guess after all that training I did back at home in order to protect my friends from any of those criminals is beginning to pay off for real... There were times when I thought I was going to get hit, but I quickly ignored it. Mostly because, uh... Well, I don't know, let's just say that I'm trying to _land a hit on this thing without getting _**_hurt_**! Well, anyways... I quickly noticed that now my crystallized arm had grown larger again, with that in mind, I quickly slashed at the Golem's back. It seemed to have groaned in pain a little, but not by much. However... I think it got really mad since I did that. Because, before I knew what happened, I was slammed against the ground on the bottom of the alter!

"**_AUGH!!_**" I screamed out in pain as I felt what seemed to be a few bones in my body breaking, but I wasn't quite sure, since I could still move. I then heard a shout from someone whom I instantly recognized. Blast it, Knuckles... you didn't even try to run away and get Sonic to safety? Man, I don't think I'll ever depend on that echidna ever again, because I still see Sonic with him. Speaking of which, I saw Sonic awake, and he seemed to be struggling a little with Knuckles. Almost instantly, I quickly got up as I ignored the extreme pain coursing throughout my body. The Golem looked down at me again as its baby doll-like face gave out a disturbing and sneering grin, which made me shudder a little. Huh... It's kinda hard to believe that I'm afraid of those kinds of dolls. I swear, those dolls that you can find in antique stores, they can give you the creeps. ...Ugh... I felt my left arm growing bigger again, but somehow, it didn't feel any heavier to me. Maybe it's because my arm's part of my body or something? Oh well, the bigger they are, the harder they hit... or hurt or... whatever, you get the point.

"**_HAH!_**" I hit the Golem again, and this time, I managed to tear off two of its legs! Well, I tore off two of its left rear legs off to be exact.

"**_KYEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!_**" it screamed in pain with that disturbing child-like voice again. I swear, its voice can make you shiver to the core if you're not careful. Before I could move away from the Golem, however, it grabbed me with its right hand against the side of the Master Emerald's altar. As soon as I hit the wall, all of the air was forced out of my body as my eyes widened in pain as I couldn't cry out. I thought I heard either Sonic or Knuckles shouting about something, but my head was aching too much for me to make it out.

"Ah...!" I then noticed that a bit of blood was coming out of my mouth again. Seriously, this "blood coming from the mouth" thing is really starting to get old. Because I'm really getting sick of the salty bitter taste of blood getting into my taste buds. Well... at least I'm not coughing right now...

"**_YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID!!_**" it spoke angrily. Huh, well what do you know... it actually speaks without stretching its words this time! Wait...

...that can't be good...

...Uh...oh...

"**_YOU WILL PAY... WITH THIS!!_**" it raised its hand with the Master Emerald shard it was holding. At my best guess, I'd say it was a few inches long, just like those spikes that had nailed Sonic against that coffin. Still, I wondered... how could its large hand hold such a small thing? What its going to do now?

...My question was instantly answered...

...As soon as I felt something thrust itself into my right eye...

...

**...**

...

"**_RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!_**"

"**_GYAAAAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!_**"

Sonic and Knuckles froze as soon as they heard Maria scream out in writhing pain with the Golem laughing along...

"What... happened?" Knuckles breathed as he looked on in horror.

"That Golem...?" Sonic was cut off when he saw the Golem withdraw the Master Emerald shard in its right hand. Even though it was barely noticeable, they saw a red liquid dripping from the shard... "No way..."

The Golem opened its mouth as a long tongue that seemed to made out of either wood or metal come out, it licked a drop of Maria's blood before giving out another malicious laugh of satisfaction.

"Uwwwwwwwoooooooonnnnnnnnnn..." Sonic's eyes widened as he saw Maria emit a somewhat small cry of pain as she was covering her right eye with her human right arm as he noticed her having a look of pain and disbelief on her face, blood also seeped through her fingers as she tried to stop the flow.

"That thing... stabbed her eye...?!" Knuckles said in disbelief.

Sonic had enough as he tried to struggle to his feet, more than once, he limped a little and had to be caught by Knuckles in order for Sonic not to fall down.

"Sonic, what are you up to?" Knuckles asked as he helped Sonic keep his footing, "You can't run in the condition you're in!"

"I don't care, Knuckles," Sonic said through his teeth, "She saved me again when we were in that strange place from earlier, I have to return the favor. Or would you rather have her suffer and die?"

"...Fine..." Knuckles then grinned a little, "But don't expect having all the fun."

"That's more like it," Sonic grinned back as he was able to stand on his own. _I've got to hurry before it's too late..._ Sonic thought. _Hang in there, Maria, you don't want to leave your sister all alone, do you?_ Without giving any much more thought, Sonic began to run, despite the aching pains coursing throughout his legs with Knuckles following.

"Let's see you try some of this, you freak!" Knuckles yelled out as he punched at the Golem's side, knocking it over as it lost its grip on the Master Emerald shard, still partially wet with Maria's blood.

"**_GUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!_**" it screamed out in pain as it was knocked over to its side.

"Maria!" Sonic then quickly went over to Maria's aid, "Are you okay?!"

"Ow... its hurts..." Maria muttered as she pressed her right hand over her right eye as tears had come down on her left with a scowl on her face, "It hurts... Ow..."

"Just hang in there, it'll be okay. I promise... Ow...!" Sonic then noticed that the wound on his right hand had opened up a little as a little bit of blood welled up from it. Sonic silently cursed at himself, although he hated to admit it, he knew that he probably shouldn't have pushed himself so hard. He look at Maria again, this time with her blood-stained hand no longer pressed against her face.

"Sonic..." Maria turned to him as tears continued to flow from her left eye, with her hair covering her right, "What are you...?"

"Just hang in there, you'll be fine," Sonic tried to reassure her as he saw Knuckles continuously punching the Golem's arms and legs, "I'll be back in a moment!"

Sonic quickly left Maria for a brief moment as he readied himself to make a spin attack, usually he just do it almost instantly. However, this time, he decided to see if can build up some strength in order to actually damage the Golem he was about to attack. Sonic quickly spotted an opening that Knuckles had created, which made Sonic take the chance. After a moment of thinking things through, Sonic unleashed his spin attach on the Golem's side, which gave Knuckles the chance to escape from the Golem's wrath.

"**_YOU'RE BEGINNING TO GET ANNOYING YOU LITTLE BRAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTSSSSSSSSSSSS!!_**"

"We'll see about that!" Sonic remarked as he pulled Knuckles to safety.

Just then the grounds of Angel Island began to shake...

"What the...?!" Sonic then instantly realized what was going on, "Knuckles, you once said something about the Master Emerald..."

"That's right," Knuckles said as he nodded, "Without the Emerald's power, this whole Island will fall into the ocean below."

"Then we've got to get out of here," Sonic said, "Hopefully, that Golem will be destroyed as the Island comes down."

"There's a chance that the Island will stay afloat," Knuckles turned to the Golem and readied himself in case of attacks, "I saw a piece of land not too long before you guys showed up. Once this is over, I'm going to find all the shards after this."

"Fine by me," Sonic took a deep breath as he spoke until...

"WATCH OUT!" Knuckles grabbed Sonic as both he and Sonic jumped out of the Golem's attacking point, barely avoiding the Golem's attack by merely a few feet away.

"Thanks Knuckles."

"Don't mention it."

...

Rouge the Bat flew about as she was doing her usual thing during her free time, searching for any precious gems. After a few minutes of flying around, she landed without much trouble. She looked up in the sky and thought that she saw Angel Island for a moment, but she wasn't sure due to clouds in the afternoon sky. Rouge's ears twitched, for she could've sworn that she heard someone scream in agony earlier, but she wasn't sure. After looking at the same spot in the clouds, her eyes widened when she noticed that it was no mirage.

The Angel Island was slowly falling from the sky...

"Oh... my... gosh..." acting quickly, Rouge took flight once again...

...

Sonic continued to run as he continued to dodge some of the Golem's attacks, ignoring the pain welling up throughout his body. He quickly glanced at Maria and saw that she was still out of harm's way. Relieved, Sonic then did another spin attack on the Golem again before retreating in order to not get hit. He then saw Knuckles punch at the Golem's head, which angered it.

"When will that thing go down?" Sonic muttered to himself. He was hoping that the Golem will be defeated soon, because the wounds Sonic had sustained when he was in that dark lair from earlier were beginning to take their toll on him. The wounds on Sonic's hands were beginning to sting like crazy, and the loss of blood from his hands were causing Sonic to feel light-headed due to fatigue.

"Sonic!" Knuckles instantly noticed Sonic's fatigue, without much thought Knuckles rushed to him, "You can't take much more of this! You need to rest, I'll take care of this!"

"No way, Knuckles..." Sonic breathed a few sighs, "That thing is after Maria for some reason, we can't let that thing get her..."

"What are you...?"

"Hey, boys! Starting a party without me?"

Both Sonic and Knuckles looked up and saw the one person they weren't expecting standing on a tree branch.

"Rouge!" Knuckles readied his fists at her, "What are you doing here?!"

"I noticed the island falling," Rouge said as she gave out a somewhat serious look, "So I came up here to investigate."

"Look out!" Sonic yelled out.

"WAH!" Rouge jumped out from the tree, barely avoiding the Golem's arm by inches, "Hey! What's the big... What is that thing?!" it was then Rouge managed to get a better look at the Golem that was attacking.

"It's a Golem..." Sonic almost collapsed as he spoke before being caught by Knuckles, "We need to destroy that thing... and fast..."

"I see," Rouge then noticed a familiar green shard laying next to her feet and quickly picked it up, "I see that the Master Emerald has shattered again."

"Take a closer look at it, I dare you," Knuckles said as he narrowed his eyes.

Rouge did what Knuckles said (mostly because she never backs down from most dares) and saw that the pointed end was coated with a red liquid, "Is this...?"

"Blood? Yes," Sonic said as he pointed at Maria, who seemed to have passed out not too long ago.

"Oh, good grief..." Rouge froze when she saw Maria in the state she was in, then turned to Sonic, "And what happened to you?"

"Talk later! Fight now!" Knuckles said as he then started to run towards the Golem. Rouge decided to worry about the Master Emerald later, for she dropped the shard and ran after Knuckles.

Sonic, still feeling a little light-headed, went over to Maria's aid before collapsing to his knees, "Oh... great..." Sonic silently cursed to himself again before losing consciousness again.

...

Ow... Ugh... Ow...

I have never felt so much pain coursing throughout my face in my whole life. I guess I can't be to upset, at least I can still see with my left eye. Like I have said numerous times, I don't care what happens to me, as long as the people who are important to me are safe... then I'll be able to know that they are living in peace. You see, after I lost my parents, I never had anyone to help me out whenever I needed them. After losing my will to live for my own purpose, I decided to be the Guardian Angel for the ones who are important to me.

I opened my left eye and saw Sonic next to me, I guessed that Sonic may have passed out due to loss of blood and fatigue. You know... seeing Sonic like that reminded me of the time when I was like that. It reminded me of the time when I got shot by those three criminals back at home... Speaking of things back home... is Lulubell and the others okay? It's been only about three or four days since Merhea and I have somehow gotten ourselves into Sonic's world, I can't help but worry about my friends back at home... Ah, dang it. I went off topic again did I?

I then heard a few sounds of something hitting the ground, which was causing a few tremors. Even though I couldn't see with my right eye anymore, I was able to see with my left, which I said earlier. I saw that same Golem that had tried to shoot both me and Sonic earlier. Not to mention that I still can't get over the fact that I was able to catch a bullet with my crystallized hand, thanks to the bullet, we were somehow able to get out of that Golem's lair. Speaking of which, how did we get to Angel Island again? Oh well, whatever. We're out of there one way or another, so I don't care. I then noticed that Knuckles was now fighting the Golem with... Rouge the Bat? When'd she get here? And how long have they've been fighting? Judging from the injuries that I was able to see on both of them, I guess it must've been going on for a while...

Something then caught my eye, I looked down to my left and saw the Master Emerald shard next to Sonic. I then realized with a jolt... if the Master Emerald's destroyed then... Oh no...

Hang on... then again... the fact that the Angel Island is falling has just given me one heck of an idea.

The only problem is... I don't think it might work, because it's a bit risky. Oh well, I'll just do it anyway.

Because there's no story without suspense, am I right?

"Sorry, Sonic. I'm gonna need your help in this..." I then started picking him up and carried him on my back.

"I... know..." I smiled when I heard Sonic say that...

...

"How long is this going to go on?!"

Even Knuckles was about to succumb to fatigue. Rouge, however, was getting warmed up, for she continued to kick any large rocks she could find at the Golem.

"This isn't working, Knuckles!" Rouge was getting frustrated as the Golem continued to laugh at their attempt of even hurting the Golem at all. Somehow, it was able to no longer feel pain for some reason that's beyond them.

"**_GYAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!_**" the Golem continued to laugh at them, "**_YOU WILL NEVER DEFEAT MEEEEEEEEEEEE!!_**"

"We'll see about that, Doll Face!"

"Huh?!" both Knuckles and Rouge looked on and saw Maria charging at the Golem with her crystallized arm. Her arm had grown to a large volume, which seemed to be enough to damage the Golem. They also noticed that Maria was carrying Sonic on her back.

"What are they doing?!" Rouge said in shock.

"They're gonna get killed if they charge forward recklessly!"

...

Sonic paid no attention to what Knuckles and Rouge were saying, he carefully looked out for any sneak attacks that the Golem might try to do.

"**_GAH HAH HAH HAAAAAHHHHHHH!! WANT MORRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEE??_**"

"...We'll see about that!" Maria yelled out as she had somehow landed a devastating punch at the Golem's side, knocking it to near the edge of the island, "Sonic! How much closer is the Island to the ocean?"

"It should hit the water within a minute at my guess!" Sonic said, not letting go from Maria's back.

"Sixty seconds is all I need!" Maria smirked in response, "Start the countdown, and let me know every ten seconds starting now!"

"Sixty..." Sonic began.

"**_HAH!_**" Maria rammed her arm against the Golem again, which made the Golem get even closer to the edge.

"Fifty..."

"**_NYAH HAH HAH HAAAAHHHHH!!_**" the Golem laughed again as it moved away from the edge of the island.

"Forty..."

"Come on..." Maria dodged a bullet from the Golem's mouth, but then countered with a slash throughout its chest.

"Thirty..."

"**_YOU'LL PAY FOR THAAAAAATTTTTTTT!!_**"

"Oh, I'll pay," Maria smirked, "With THIS!" she slashed at the Golem again.

"Twenty..."

"**_KYAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!_**"

"**_EYAH!!_**"

"Ten..."

Both Maria and the Golem were still fighting...

"Nine... Eight... Seven..."

But then Maria did something unexpected...

"Six... Five... Four..."

She quickly grabbed one of the Golem's legs...

"Three... Two..."

...and threw him off to the bottom of the island...

"One..."

"**_EYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! HOW COULD I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEE??_**"

Angel Island finally fell into the ocean, crushing the Golem below...

...

I can't believe it... we finally defeated that thing... and won...

Finally...

I let Sonic slide off my back as my crystallized arm had begun to revert back to its original human state. My body was exhausted, I don't think I've ever exerted myself like this in my whole life. I guessed that I hadn't had these crystalline features, both Sonic and I would've been dead. Well, it's over now. Now... I can finally rest. No, I'm not saying that I'm gonna rest in peace, for that's too cliche. Well, anyways...

"We finally won, Maria," Sonic slowly walked in front of me with a smile on his face, I looked down at him and gave out a smirk.

"Yeah... we won..." without anything to say, uh... Okay, I'll put this short. I let out a heavy sigh of relief as I collapsed to my side.

"Hey..." Sonic lifted up my head and back as both Knuckles and Rouge arrived.

"I'm okay," I smiled at the three of them. I then placed a hand over my destroyed right eye, "I'll manage..." I then became a little worried, though. I wonder how bad the injury around my eye is... "Um... Guys?"

"Yes?" Sonic responded.

"Can you... take a look?" I asked them as I moved my hand out of the way.

"Okay..." though I could see that Knuckles was reluctant, he agreed to look at my eye for me. I didn't even bother to resist as Knuckles slowly moved my hair out of the way. Almost immediately they had shocked expressions of their faces.

"What is it?" I asked. Why do they look so... shocked?

"Maria..." Sonic gently pointed at my eye, "Your eye is..."

...

**(End of the Eighth Crystal)**

...

...

**Authoress' Notes:** Just so you know, I know the engine of converting the kilogram term into the pound term. In case you didn't know, two point two pounds (2.2 lbs) has the same measurement as one kilogram. If you multiply the amount of kilograms by (2.2), then you will know how many pounds something weighs. And for the last (if not the first) time, this is related to weight by the gravitational pull depending on what sea level you're in. Your mass is not your weight, mass is the amount of matter in your body. Most companies measure things by mass because the gravitational pull changes the item's weight in different locations (or different sea levels).

**References:** In the Archie Comics of the _Sonic the Hedgehog_ series, it was said that Sonic's full name was intended to be "Olgilvie Maurice Hedgehog." However, it never came to be when the previous writer named Ken Penders left the staff after issue #160. Because of this, Sonic's name in the Data File page (according to Archie Sonic Wikia) was addressed as "?? Maurice Hedgehog," with Sonic being his nickname due to his speed. However, this isn't canon in the games, since his real name is Sonic in that universe. When I first saw that name, I was like "What the heck, Maurice?!" I mean, seriously, what was Ken Penders (or any of the other writers in particular) thinking?! Oh well... Anyways, when Maria mentioned her calling Sonic "Olgilvie Maurice," she used it as a joke. Since RotCG takes place in the video game universe, Sonic (as well as his friends) does not have any knowledge of any of the Archie-exclusive characters and names. This, of course, gives Maria numerous opportunities to make jokes that don't make much sense to them (much to Merhea and Sonic's annoyance).

The other name Maria jokingly called Sonic was "Skippy." You see, back at the school I go to, numerous crazy things happen there. The school I go to gives me numerous ideas on jokes I put here on RotCG, such as the humorous names I hear, Skippy was one example. When one of the kids who usually made fun out of me asked if I could lend him my Chemistry textbook, I said, "Forget it, Skippy!" in response. Of course, it made the classroom, even the teacher, laugh.

Whenever Maria says "I swear to the ones above..." or "I pray to the ones above..." This is her way of saying "I swear to God..." or "I pray to God..." The reason why this was added was to put yet another unique trait in her personality, I also speak like this too. You see, I'm not religious, but I respect the others for whatever religion they have. I didn't think using "God" would seem suitable for RotCG, and somehow I can't picture Maria believing in religion. She actually hates it, since she (as have I) long questioned about the term "Guardian Angel." Because Maria has not had a "Guardian Angel" of her own, she decided to become one for Merhea (or anyone she cares about in particular). Her role of being Merhea's Guardian Angel has caused Maria to no longer care about her own life; instead, she lives only for Merhea, as she mentioned earlier.

The Golem that Maria, Sonic, and Knuckles went up against always speaks with both bold and italics, this goes for the other Golems like that one. Just so you know, all Golems (unless specified) will always be regarded as genderless, this is to make them a little more mysterious.


	9. Attack of the Evil CBRD

My thanks for the three reviews RotCG has received, I'm pleased that you enjoyed this.

Remember the Comical Beatings and Rants of Doom? **Fear it, it's _evil_...**

Enjoy the random humor of the Ninth Crystal.

...

**The Ninth Crystal: Attack of the Evil CBRD**

...

"...Big Sis... Sonic..."

Merhea sat down on the stairway outside of Tails' workshop, with the Chaos Emerald still in her hands. It had been three hours since Sonic and Maria were kidnapped by that Golem with the puppet head, and both she and the others had failed to find any leads on where they are.

"Why did it take them away?" Merhea muttered to herself as she was on the brink of tears. However, she did promise Maria that she would not cry if her sister wasn't around. Merhea lightly bit her lower lip as she tightly gripped the Chaos Emerald, she didn't know why, but it seemed to be something very important between both her and her sister.

She looked up ahead of her and saw that Tails was trying to restrain Amy from running off somewhere, Merhea guessed that without a doubt that Amy was planning to search for Sonic. For she could tell that Amy will do anything, and they mean anything, just to be near Sonic. Merhea sighed as she looked at the Emerald again in order to escape a bit of reality. Somehow, just looking inside of the Chaos Emerald was able to make her feel like she was in a fantasy world of some sort. She almost fell asleep by the captivating glow of the Emerald before feeling a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Huh...?" she looked to her left and saw Vanilla holding a plate of something, "Oh... uh..."

"Don't worry," Vanilla said as comforting as she could, "Knowing your sister, I'm sure she'll be fine. Besides, Sonic's with her, he'll be able to bring your sister back."

"Really?" Merhea sniffed.

"Of course," Vanilla nodded as she tried to give out a comforting smile, "Here, have a cookie. They're freshly baked."

Vanilla then had worried thoughts within her mind. _Maria, Sonic... please be okay..._

...

"I don't believe it..." Sonic looked at me in disbelief.

"Guys, what is it? I know that my eye is gone, but..."

"No, that's not it," Sonic shook his head as both Knuckles and Rouge looked at me with a somewhat creeped out look.

"Sonic, be blunt with me," I said with a 'Just say it' look on my face, "And don't even think about lying about the varnishing truth with sugar and a cherry on top."

"Uh..."

"Just tell me already!" I could've sworn that I had a tick mark on my head in an anime-like fashion, but... I wasn't too sure.

"Well, your eye is... How should I put this...? Um..." Apparently, Sonic's having a hard time to decide what words he should use. Seriously, why can't he just say it? Okay then... makes me wonder if Knuckles or Rouge will say it...

"Are you trying to tell me that I look like a monster or something?" I rose my eyebrow as I asked.

"No, but... Maybe it would easier if we _show_ you," Rouge then took out something out of _thin_ _air_... **_again_**... Seriously, how on _Earth_ is she able to do that? Darn you laws of hammerspace... I then noticed that she took out... a compact? Well, I guess it makes sense; because she _does_ wear makeup, right? Well, anyways... she opened up the compact as she handed it over to me.

"Rouge, I'm not wearing makeup," I said as I took the compact anyway.

"Look in the mirror, you d-...!" Rouge was cut off due to Sonic slapping her mouth shut, for a moment I thought she was going to call me a dork in an insulting manner. For if she did, she would've suffered one heck of a fate from my CBRD technique. No, I am **_NOT_** going to say how I do the Comical Beatings and Rants of Doom, stop asking me and suffer to your lust of knowledge, people. Anyways... I then looked at my reflection over my right eye...

"No way..." I couldn't believe this. The area around my right eye was still a crystallized blue, and I could still see the bloody red wound of where my eye used to be. Except that my eye... seemed to be... very slowly... "My eye is... regenerating...?"

"Apparently so," Knuckles nodded a little.

"How is this possible?" Rouge said mostly to herself as I gave her compact back to her.

"I really don't know," I was able to say, "Strange things have been happening to me ever since I got in this world..." I then noticed... "Ah! Sonic! We'd better get you to a doctor...!"

It was not until now that I was able to see the actual damage in Sonic's hands. Dry blood was caked around the wounds, as well as they were still bleeding a little. I instantly became worried for Sonic, with wounds like those, they could get serious infection unless they're treated. I've only been able to treat wounds like that once back at home. I think it was Andy Tulip that had the wound, only it was on his left foot due to a criminal impaling it for some reason. However, I can bet that it had something to do with either vital information or money. Well... mostly money. I then snapped back to reality as I noticed Sonic collapse to his knees.

"Sonic..." I bit my lower lip a little as I had my hand on one of his quills.

"I'm fine... Unh..." Sonic then trembled as he clenched his teeth a little. Oh man... Sonic must've pushed himself so hard when he went up against that puppet Golem that he had lost most of his energy... I noticed that both Knuckles and Rouge showed signs of concern as well; with Knuckles, I can understand, but Rouge? Then again, she _did_ grieve for Sonic when he supposedly died in _Sonic Next_, so... maybe I shouldn't find that surprising, I quickly shook away the thought as I slowly stood up. After taking a somewhat deep breath, I gently grabbed Sonic's light frame and started to carry him on my back again. You know... It's kind of embarrassing to admit it, but it actually kind of feels good carrying Sonic like this...

"Maria..." Sonic began, "What are you...?"

"Shut up, Sonic," I said in a blunt manner, because I tend to get a little grumpy whenever an injured person questions me, "We're getting you to a doctor, whether you like it or not," I guess Sonic must've decided to listen to me this time, because I didn't hear him complaining about anything. I then turned to Knuckles and Rouge, "Do you have any idea where we're at?" I paused for a moment, but when I heard Rouge begin to speak... "And be honest with me, if you don't know, that's fine."

"Uh..." Knuckles gave me a look of the old 'Okay... what's with her?' on his face, then he quickly shook his head a little before saying, "Okay, fine, we don't where we're at. Happy?"

"Since you're being honest with me, yes," I said bluntly again, then I looked into the mountain that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere in the horizon, "We're leaving this place, because I don't want the others to worry about us for whatever reason that's beyond us."

"I'm not leaving the Master Emerald," Knuckles said in a somewhat strict tone.

"...You do realize that it got destroyed, right?" My left eye twitched a little, don't tell me that Knuckles forgot... My hair had covered my destroyed right eye. Even though my right eye is regenerating bit by bit, I'm still unable to see. Well, at least I can still see with my left...

Knuckles' body twitched slightly, "Oh, right..." he turned his head away as I noticed his face turn red a little. Huh... I guess he's not used to even human girls. Because I remember that in various media, Knuckles tends to get embarrassed whenever he's around girls, whether its the same species as him or not. Well, then again... I shouldn't find that surprising, with Knuckles spending so much time around Angel Island guarding a big freaking jewel called the Master Emerald, I'm guessing that he wasn't able to learn much about social skills. Oh well, with Sonic and the others around, I guess he's still learning. ...The only thing I'm hoping is that he won't be tricked by Eggman again, because that's always causes nothing but trouble in the first place!

...

Knuckles became a little embarrassed as he accidentally forgot about the fact that the Master Emerald had shattered again, for he had become so focused into destroying that puppet Golem that he had almost forgotten about the Master Emerald. He was expecting Maria to laugh, but...

"Eh, don't worry about it," Maria said as she waved her hand a little while maintaining a grip on Sonic, "That happens to me, too. With me forgetting things and stuff and all, so... I guess we're even."

"Like the time after you did the CB... er-... whatever it was on Rouge back at Cream's house?" Sonic asked.

"CBRD Level 1, yes," Maria said in response.

"Level 1? CBRD? What?" Rouge became confused at this.

"'Comical Beatings and Rants of Doom,'" both Maria and Sonic said at the same time before looking at each other with a 'Why are you copying me?' look on their faces.

"Your CBRD thing is Level based?" Sonic asked.

"I'll tell you about it later," Maria said with a somewhat small anger mark on her head as she started to move forward, "Come on, I've said this before, we're going back to Vanilla and Cream's place."

"Stubborn, aren't we?" Rouge playfully smirked as she said this.

"Nah," Maria said as she made Knuckles lead the way, "I'm just being the mindless and selfless dork I usually am," she smiled with a look of content on her face.

"You're not a dork, Maria," Sonic said with a playful smirk on his face.

"Yeah, I know," Maria laughed a little, "But hey, I can't help it," she then seemed have notice something, "...Hm? Oh, wait..." She then began to crouch down while being careful not to make Sonic slip from her back, and picked up a familiar blood-stained green shard. She then handed it over to Knuckles, "I almost forgot about this thing, myself. Sorry for the blood, Knuckles."

"It's all right," Knuckles said as he gently took the Master Emerald shard, he then turned and started walking forward in a certain direction, "C'mon, the mainland's this way."

While everyone was following Knuckles, Rouge tried to activate her communicator in order to get into contact with GUN, the organization she works with. However, to her dismay (and possibly to her annoyance), the communicator somehow became damaged while she was helping the others destroy the puppet Golem. Rouge silently cursed to herself as she hoped that someone from GUN could track them down without the communicator...

...

After what seemed to be half an hour, Knuckles was able to guide us out of Angel Island. However, we unable to see any signs of civilization, meaning that there is no doctor in sight. Even though this was a little frustrating in my view, I didn't make any complaints. Because the only thing happens whenever someone complains, is that it just annoys the junk out of other people. Every once in a while, Sonic would say that he would be able to walk on his own, only for him to collapse to his knees after five steps at most. And whenever that happens... I would just grin at him as if he were my little brother, which is somewhat true. I mean, he is younger than me in this world, with him being fifteen and me being sixteen... After I would grin at Sonic, I would just pick him up and carry him on my back against his will like usual.

"I feel like a princess that's being kidnapped by a giant turtle..." Sonic said the most recent time I had to carry him again.

"Sonic," I said as I turned to him, "I'm not a giant green, spiky-shelled turtle, and you're not a princess in a pink dress. Now shut up and act like a good little hedgehog that got himself injured by Golems."

"Uh..." Well, what do you know... I got everyone speechless at once! Yay! Okay, back to the plot... again.

"Uh... How did I become friends with you again?" Sonic asked me.

"Um..." I couldn't find anything to answer that one, "To be honest, I don't know. I think it was because you guys helped me find Merhea that I was able to become friends with you guys. Well, I don't know about Rouge, but..."

"Hey!" Rouge snapped.

"Hey, don't blame me," I said, "I barely even know you!" Actually, I was lying on that one. Because since she's a video game character, I was able to know a lot about her. Despite the fact that Rouge is considered to be the sex symbol of the Sonic series, and that she one of the most controversial characters of the games, she's still pretty popular. I mean, I like her because she makes somewhat funny scenes that somewhat pokes fun out of Knuckles' inferiority complex. Well, maybe it's not as funny as was in the past anymore now since I'm with Knuckles and Rouge themselves, but... Oh well...

"She got you there, Rouge..." Knuckles said as he turned his head away from her in order to hide a smirk.

"I hate you, Maria, you know that?" Rouge said as we all stopped.

"Yeah, I know, I love you too," I said sarcastically in a blunt manner, "And there are times when I see a person doing something so incredibly stupid that it makes me want to bash my head on something very hard."

"Uh..." Good grief, people... I got all three of them speechless again...

"And I won't be surprised to find that when the world goes crazy, I'll be considered sane. Until then..." I pointed upward with my index finger, "You go make like a tree and see if you can see any towns from the air, because we're wasting time saying _pointless things that _**_have nothing do with treating Sonic!_**" With all of that said... I started walking forward, possibly making the others (including Sonic who's unwillingly clinging onto my back) think over the somewhat ridiculous yet very true things I had just said.

"Did you really have to go _that_ far?" Sonic asked me about ten seconds afterwards as we heard the flapping of Rouge's wings from behind.

"If it's the only way for my logic to go through those thick heads of theirs, then yes," I replied back.

"You have a strange sense of humor, you know that?" Sonic grinned at me as he said that.

"Heh heh heh..." I chuckled somewhat playful yet evilly, "I know."

I can tell that Sonic was creeped out, because he shivered a little.

Now **this** is amusing.

...

A familiar black hedgehog was running through numerous rows of trees under a clear blue sky, he kept on running around in search of anything interesting until...

"Shadow the Hedgehog, do you copy?"

Shadow stopped instantly as he looked at the communicator on his wrist, he then noticed that it was someone from GUN. Usually, whenever someone from GUN gets into contact with Shadow, they usually assign him to a mission. Nevertheless, he answered, "Shadow responding. What is the mission?"

"We've lost contact with Rouge the Bat exactly forty-five minutes ago," the communicator said, "However, we were able to track down where the communicator responded last. It's one thousand miles ahead of you up North, you should get there easily. Your mission is to find Rouge, and bring her back to GUN."

"...Understood... Initiating the mission now." Shadow then turned off his communicator as he had a few thoughts whirling into his mind. He wondered what could've happened to Rouge, since it's not like her to suddenly lose contact with GUN, not that he was very concerned. However, Rouge, along with Omega, have been Shadow's best friends ever since the death of Maria Robotnik.

Speaking of Maria Robotnik... Shadow wondered how the other Maria is doing. Even though she looked nothing like the Maria he knew, the other Maria had some resemblance to the one he knew. Shadow then shook the thought out of his mind as he dashed forward in search of Rouge.

...

"Sonic, are you okay?"

"Yeah, but... my hands are stinging..."

After about five minutes I told Rouge to search from the air, I made Sonic lean against a nearby oak tree and examined his hands. To my disgust, I saw that the dry blood on Sonic's hands were beginning to turn into large black scabs. I silently cursed to myself, because I know from experience that scabs like the ones on Sonic's hands can actually interfere the healing process. If I had bandages, Sonic wouldn't be having this problem. Man... for once, I kinda wished that the physics in the Sonic video games would apply here in this world. What I mean is that usually in the games, whenever Sonic (or any of the characters in particular) gets hit by what seems to a lethal blow, they would just lose all the rings they collected and not become physically hurt. Then again... I don't recall Sonic carrying any kind of ring, not even those big freaking "Goal Rings." Speaking of which, do Goal Rings even exist here? I then pushed the thought out of my mind as I focused my attention back to Sonic's hands. They did tremble every once in a while, but Sonic was able to bear most of the pain.

"I'm sorry, Sonic..." I said before I could stop myself.

"Sorry for what?" Sonic asked as he gave me a confused look.

"I'm sorry that I can't do anything to make your hands better," I sighed as I became a little angry at myself, "I feel bad for making your hands suffer like this."

"It's okay," Sonic said as he gave out one of his small trademark grins. For once, I couldn't stand his grins. I mean, how he could still smile, even after all of this? That's when it hit me, the reason why Sonic smiles at others is because he cares about others, and looks after him even it costs his own life. He's probably more like me than I thought... "Huh? Um... Maria, when did your arm turn back to normal?" I looked at my left again. Huh... it must've turned back to normal while I was still carrying Sonic. I touched the right side of my face again and noticed that it was still crystallized, as well as the bottom half of my hair. Good, then that means I won't need my glasses... yet.

"..." I then ignored the other things Sonic was saying, for I was still a little upset with myself. I kept telling myself time and time again that I must help anyone that's dear to me. I silently cursed to myself again, ever since I got separated from Merhea again, I've been acting like as if Sonic had taken her place for now. I then heard footsteps coming towards us, as I turned I saw Knuckles the Echidna, "Oh, hey Knuckles," I said as I examined Sonic's hands again.

"You're pretty tense, you know that?" Knuckles as he looked at me as if he were studying me for some weird reason that's beyond me.

"Hey!" I said as I turned to him without standing up and putting my left hand against my hip, "I'm not **_that_** tense!" I then felt something on my waist, "Hm...? Ah!" I somewhat sang in a happy tone.

"What is it, Maria?" Apparently, Sonic didn't seem to know what made me happy, and neither does Knuckles.

"I can't believe I forgot about these bandages," I said as I partially lifted up my shirt to prove it, "I can use this to wrap up Sonic's hands."

"But...!" Sonic was about to protest, but he decided to shut up after I glared at him with an eyebrow twitching. As I starting to untie the bandages around my waist, Sonic spoke again, much to my annoyance, "But what about your gunshot wound?"

"Um..." I don't what I should say about this one. Oh well, I'll just be honest, "What gunshot wound?" I said this more like a comment than a question.

"Eh?" Sonic then noticed the condition on my waist, "It's... gone...?"

"It must've been healed when Merhea somehow revived me," I said, then I shook my head a little and began to roll up the bandages, "Well, that doesn't matter. At least I now have a better use for this." I said as I sang the last sentence in a chipper tone.

"You suddenly became cheerful," Sonic said as he smiled and raised a brow.

"Because..." I said as I made Knuckles hold on to the rolled up bandages, "Now I can wrap your wounds to prevent infection, but first... You better relax, because this might hurt a bit."

Both Sonic and Knuckles didn't say anything as I was slowly picking off the scabs on Sonic's left hand, which was a little difficult due to him wearing gloves. I then motioned Knuckles to come closer in order to wrap Sonic's hand with the bandages whenever I needed to tell him to. More than once, Sonic winced a little as I picked off some of the largest scabs. As expected, the wound reopened, in which Knuckles quickly wrapped some of the bandages on Sonic's hands in response. After cutting the end of the bandages with my teeth, I was able to tie the bandage around Sonic's left hand properly.

"Okay, how's that?" I said.

"Feels a lot better, thanks," Sonic said as he flexed his fingers.

"Good, now for the right..." I repeated the same process on Sonic's right hand, after about a minute or two... both Knuckles and I were able to wrap up Sonic's right hand just as properly, "There we go!"

"Thanks, Maria," Sonic said, "Doesn't sting as much now."

"Ahahaha! No problem!" I said happily, I then turned to Knuckles, who was still holding some of the bandages, "Let's save the rest of that for later."

"I agree," Knuckles nodded in response.

"Hey guys!" all three of looked up and saw Rouge the Bat, and she had a somewhat excited look on her face, "There's a town up ahead!"

"What's the place called?" Sonic asked.

"It's the famous city of water, Soleanna!" Rouge said as she landed.

While Sonic seemed a little excited, along with Knuckles just being Knuckles. As for me... it hit me like a ton of bricks. Oh, come on, people... not Soleanna, any place but there... Okay, maybe not every place. I mean, seriously, who would want to be inside an active volcano? Okay... that may have been a little random... Oh well... Anyways... Why Soleanna? I swear, if I'm in the game of _Sonic Next_, I'm gonna kill someone... preferably either Eggman or another one of those stupid-looking puppet Golems. Well... maybe just another one of those stupid puppet Golems, because if Eggman no longer exists, then Sonic and the others will be out of a job. Well... I don't know about Shadow and Rouge, but... Oh well.

Instead, I pretended that I didn't know anything about Soleanna, "What's Soleanna famous for?" I simply asked.

"Its primary industries are tourism and crafting precision machinery," Rouge said, I can't believe it... she's saying almost the exact same stuff she said to Shadow in the game! Even though I've never played it, I have watched the cutscenes on the Internet back at home... "It has a constitutional monarchy, and the current sovereign (which is the current ruler) is Princess Elise the Third."

Okay... Soleanna still has Elise as the current ruler, it's still a city of water... Now... there's one thing I'm still wondering, "Do they... have any special events?"

"Just the ceremony for the birth of Soleanna," Rouge said.

"No evil gods, I hope?" I said before I could stop myself.

"What?" all three of them gave me strange looks.

"Uh... sorry... I uh..." Uh oh... Okay, Maria... stay calm and tell a lie they'll buy... Darn those words that rhyme phonetically... "Back at home, there's also a famous city of water. And uh... what was it again? Oh yeah, they worshipped this sun god that turned out to be evil in the end," I then noticed them giving me yet another strange looks, "Yeah... kinda weird, I know. Sorry, it's the best I can put it," I mentally crossed my heart hoping that they'll buy it. Good grief, I just said some of the major spoilers for the _Sonic Next_ game.

"Oh..." Rouge and the others looked at each other for a moment, "I guess that explains it," Rouge said, "And no, Soleanna does not worship any god, I can guarantee you."

"Good..." I said as I closed my eyes with my eyebrows twitching a little.

...

"Oooooooh! That's it! I'm gonna go look for Sonic!"

"But Amy! We don't know where that Golem could've taken them!"

"Well, we're not going to be able to find them if we just wait here!"

"Guys, please... Stop fighting..."

"Chao chao..."

While Amy and Tails were arguing as Cream and Cheese tried to break up the fight, Vanilla, who was sitting on a sofa in the workshop, was trying her best to comfort a very lonely Merhea. To her surprise, Merhea made no attempt of crying, though she did have a few dry sobs. Vanilla then looked at Cream and Cheese, she could tell that those two also felt sorry for Merhea, but she made no remark. However, Merhea was becoming a bit frightened due to Amy and Tails' bickering.

"Amy! This is not getting us anywhere!" Tails said, "Until we find out where that Golem could've taken both Sonic and Maria, we won't be able to search for them!"

"I don't care!" Amy argued back, "I just want my Sonic back!"

Merhea trembled as held on to Vanilla's arm as she whimpered and covered her ears, she couldn't stand the sight of anyone arguing over anything related to her sister. For she knows that hate gives birth to more hate, and hearing them argue seemed like as if they hated Sonic and Maria. Vanilla noticed this, and saw that Merhea was scared of something, she then noticed that it could've been the squabbling that's scaring her. Hearing enough of the pointless squabble...

"**_Both of you! Break it up! NOW!_**"

Both Amy and Tails stopped arguing instantly with shocked expressions on their faces as both Cream and Cheese sighed in relief.

"Vanilla... Why...?" Amy began until she was cut off by said person.

"Don't you two realize that your squabbling was scaring Merhea?" Vanilla said as she rubbed Merhea's head, "Amy, I know you're concerned about Sonic and Maria, we all are. But what the point of arguing? If we want to search for them, then we should start searching."

"But that Golem didn't leave any trace of where it went..." Tails said.

"Yes, I know," Vanilla said as she stood up, "But I think we should just search, we should be able to find them this way."

"All right!" Amy perked up as did Tails... until they heard a knock on the door.

"Why is it that we always keep getting people knocking on the door in our so-called heartwarming moments?" Amy grumbled a little as she opened the door... only to discover that it was Shadow the Hedgehog "Shadow, what are you doing here?"

"I'm on a mission," Shadow said strait to the point, "I've been assigned by GUN that I need to find Rouge, for she has gone missing."

"Rouge went missing as well?!" Tails became surprised at this, "You don't think that she was kidnapped by a Golem, don't you?"

"What is this... Golem?" Shadow asked, since he has never seen an actual Golem before.

"Both Sonic and Maria were kidnapped by a Golem a few hours ago," Amy explained, "We were just beginning to look for them."

"...If I help you," Shadow said, "In return, you will find Rouge."

"No problem," Tails nodded in agreement, "Just me a few minutes to work on the Tornado, then we'll get going."

...

Within minutes we were able to reach the city of water called Soleanna, and hence the name, it really is a beautiful city of water. We were to get there by running because I was somehow able to run my so-called super speed again, I really don't know how I'm able to run like this. Does this have anything to do with my abnormalities? I kept asking myself, how am I able to run so fast? Because I remember that there were times that I couldn't run like this even if I wanted to, so... what's causing this? I still had Sonic with me on my back, and I looked behind me and Knuckles and Rouge coming up from behind.

"Hey, Maria," Knuckles gave me a look of surprise, "How were you able to run that speed?!"

"Knuckles asked a pretty good question," Sonic said as I turned to him, "You ran like that during the times we countered Eggman with those two Pewter Golems, and when were chased by the puppet Golem. How are you able to run like that? It's almost like you could run as fast as me!"

"I... I... I don't know..." I was being honest with this one, "It just... happens... I don't know... This never happens to me back at home..." Even this never happened to me back at home, at least it feels like I'm living up to my nickname as "Sonic" again. Bah, what am I thinking? Why should my nickname be "Sonic" now when Sonic himself is here? Man... I can't think of any other catchy nicknames for me... Oh well...

"Maybe once when I can move on my own again, I could help you with your speed," Sonic offered.

"That, and maybe some lessons on how to properly use those air boards of yours," I joked.

"Deal," Sonic smirked in response.

"...Why are we here again?" I asked, which made both Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge giving me yet another strange look.

"Don't tell me you forgot again, Maria..." Sonic groaned as he had a somewhat weird smile on his face.

"Forget what?" I asked.

"Never mind..." Sonic muttered.

"Whatever..." I then looked at the amazing sights around the part of Soleanna we're in. Hmm... If I recall correctly, since we're standing on a large bridge over a river for gondolas to go under, along with that large thing that lights up in flames like that of the Olympics... My best guess is that were in that ceremonial area of Soleanna that took place in the beginning of Sonic Next in Sonic's side of the story. Even though I find Soleanna to be a beautiful place, the only thing I'm hoping is that I won't have to help-...

"**_EEEEEEEEEEEEK!!_**"

...Was that Elise?

"Whoa!" Sonic was the first to react, since he jumped off my back somehow, "Somebody's gotta check it out!" ...before he collapsed again for the fifth time since we left Angel Island. All three of us just stood there before Sonic looked at us with an annoyed look on his face, "By 'somebody', I meant 'we'."

"Oh..." was all we said before I picked up Sonic and ran towards the direction of the scream, with Knuckles and Rouge following, of course.

And after seeing many beautiful buildings and bricks that seem to come out of nowhere... we found our so called damsel in distress cornered to a wall of some random building by three strange looking thugs. I looked at her again and... yep, it's Princess Elise the Third, no doubt about it. Oh well, at least it's better than being called Oliga, because that name... kinda scares me a little... Ah, forget it, back to the plot, people. Elise still had the same attire she had in the video game, the white dress and feather headband (at least that's what I think it is), along with those weirdly formal-looking high-heeled shoes. After taking a closer look at the three thugs, they instantly reminded me of the three criminals that shot me back in our home world.

Then I comically snapped for all I care.

...

"Maria! What are you doing?!"

Maria paid no attention to Knuckles' question as she quickly (but gently) handed Sonic over to Knuckles by placing Sonic's arm over Knuckles' shoulder before dashing at the three thugs and... started beating them up... Much to the others (and possibly Elise's) surprise.

"Evil wicked friend without the 'R'!" Maria yelled as she had a crazed look on her as she continued beating two of the three thugs with... a baseball bat? "You shall suffer!"

"What..." Sonic began.

"The..." Knuckles said afterwards.

"Heck...?" Rouge said as they watched Maria beating the thugs with... an electric guitar?

"Any idea where she got those things?" Sonic asked.

"I have no idea..." Knuckles said with Rouge nodding in agreement.

"Eh?!" Maria then suddenly stopped beating the two criminals with a crowbar she got from somewhere... before throwing it at the third thug that had tried to take the girl in the white dress hostage, knocking him out. She then turned at the other two thugs, which both of them seemed to have a cowered a little in response. Maria, still with the crazed look on her face while laughing a bit like a villain... step forward as she dragged the third unconscious thug... before throwing it at them.

"**_UWAAAAAHHHHHH!!_**" the thugs cried out before falling into the water and were swept away by guards that appeared out of nowhere... and somehow disappeared out of sight as they took the baseball bat, electric guitar and crowbar.

"That's right, you evil fiends!" Maria said in a crazed manner as she raised and shook her right fist at them, "And don't come back!"

That... was when Maria actually calmed down.

"Phew..." Maria sighed as she slumped forward a little, "It's not easy doing the CBRD, I'll have to say that..." she then turned to Sonic and the others, which gave her even stranger looks than ever before, "...What?"

"How in the world are you able to do that?!" Knuckles' eyes twitched as he spoke this.

"Oh, do you _really_ want to know?" Maria smirked at Knuckles as she emphasized "really".

"Uh... Never mind." Knuckles quickly said in response.

"Um... excuse me?"

...

The four of us turned and saw Princess Elise walking towards us, as she did so I made sure that my right eye was covered by my thick hair, for I didn't want to scare her. I said nothing as she finally approached us.

"Um..." Apparently, Elise was trying to find the proper words to say, "I... I just want to thank you for helping me. In an unexpected way, that is..."

"Eh..." I scoffed as I waved my hand a little, "Those freaks were nothing compared to the guys I went up against back at home, they were easy."

"Well, still. Thank you," Elise said as she bowed a little, "Um... Is there anything I can do to return the favor?"

"Say what?" I asked, now that she caught my attention. Not only that, it seems that Sonic and the others have decided to let me do the talking for some weird reason...

"I would like to return the favor of you helping me," Elise said, "Is there anything I can do?"

"Hmm..." I placed my finger against my chin as I tried to think of something, then Sonic came into mind... "Actually, yes."

"And that would be?" Elise actually seemed eager to help out... even though I didn't like Elise that much in the game... since everything's different here, so... I guess I'll give her a chance.

"I need you to get a doctor for my friend, Sonic," I explained, "He's obtained some serious wounds while fighting against... some enemies."

"Of course," Elise nodded as she smiled, "Anything else?"

"Just a place to stay in order for Sonic to rest," I shrugged.

"Perfect! You can stay at my place!" Elise said in a cheerful tone, "My father has some of the best doctors in this city! Come on, the castle's this way!"

Huh... I guess Elise is a little more cheerful as she was now than in the game... Hold on a second... did she just mention her father? Oh wait, I forgot... Elise's father, the Duke of Soleanna, had died due the accident when he conducted experiments on Solaris just before he sealed the Iblis half into her, which was known as the Flames of Hope during that time. I guess that since the events of _Sonic Next_ were erased, I guess that means that the Duke had never even experimented on Solaris. Which in turn, Iblis was never even sealed inside of Elise. Well... I'm pretty sure that her mother is still deceased, because I think her death was the reason why the Duke experimented on Solaris the first place, just to see his wife, Elise's mother, again. Well... at least I won't have to worry as much now, since the events of Sonic Next have already come and gone; then again, the events were erased, so... whatever, you get the point. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to meet Elise, but since she's trying to help us get a doctor for Sonic, I guess I shouldn't complain.

All of these thoughts entered my mind as I picked up Sonic and carried him on my back again, the four of us then followed Elise to the way of her home residence... which turned out to be a three-minute walk away from where we were. While I was still carrying Sonic (against his will, _once again_...) with Knuckles and Rouge following, Elise sparked up a small conversation.

"By the way," Elise said as she was the one leading, "My name is Elise, and you guys are?" ...As if I hadn't known you already... Oh well...

"I'm Maria," I said, "Maria Robotnik," I then pointed at the others with my thumb, "and these guys are Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, and Rouge the Bat."

"Hey, how did you know what species I was?" Knuckles asked as he looked suspiciously at me.

"Because you look like one those spiny anteaters," I said, "And just so you know, 'echidna' is the scientific name for spiny anteaters."

"She got you there, Knux," Sonic smirked.

"Shut up..." Knuckles grumbled.

"Enough arguing," Rouge said, "I think we're here."

The castle of Soleanna turned out to be way different from what I thought it was, it looked a lot like one of those castles you would see in a King Arthur movie or something. Even so, it was a beautiful castle nonetheless. After a few minutes of some random events (including a scuffle involving some of Elise's female guards in the castle), Elise led us to the commons room of the castle.

"Well, we're here," Elise said somewhat proudly, "I'll go get my father, think you can wait a few minutes?"

"Take your time," I said as I waved my hand a little.

While Elise went off somewhere in one of those insanely big and long corridors, I made Sonic lean against a nearby pillar while I heard Knuckles saying something about the Master Emerald, and Rouge just being the jewel thief Rouge she is. I sat next to Sonic as I heard him muttering something about not wanting to wait, sheesh... I can bet you twenty rings from Sonic's world that he only waits while he runs. I gently rubbed my left shoulder, because it still hurts a little from Sonic having to bite me when we were in that puppet Golem's lair. Suddenly... I dozed off for some weird reason, and I didn't feel like sleeping! Well... instead of sleeping, it felt like I have left my body or something before everything went black for a moment.

_What happened...?_

The blackness then faded away, however, instead of revealing Sonic and the others... Instead I saw Tails working on the Tornado!

"_Huh?! What am I doing here?_" I mentally asked myself. Was the entire Golem thing a bad dream?

"..._Maria?_" I heard a voice ask, which I instantly recognized.

"_Shadow!_" I then a little embarrassed, "_Heh heh, oops... I guess I somehow possessed your body again, sorry._"

"_Actually_," Shadow thought back, "_I'm glad you did, because the reason why Tails is working on the Tornado is because we're getting ready to search for you and Sonic. I am on a mission to find Rouge, since GUN lost contact with her._"

"_She's here with us_," I said, "_As in me, Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge_."

"_That saves me the trouble on having to look in two places... Where are you?_"

"_We're in Soleanna, the City of Water_," I said, "_I helped out the princess of that place, so we're inside her castle. Don't worry about Knuckles and Rouge, they're okay._"

"_What about Sonic_?" Shadow asked.

"_The princess is getting a doctor for him right now_," I said, "_No need to worry, he's fine, he just needs some of his minor injuries treated_."

"_Good_," Shadow responded.

"I_ only have one favor to ask from you, though_."

"_What is your favor?_"

"_If Amy's coming along with you guys... Make sure she doesn't go nuts with that hammer of hers..._"

"..._Very well_," it took Shadow a few seconds to respond. Hmm... I don't recall Shadow getting hit by Amy hammer... Unless you count _Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity_, because Amy can attack with that Piko Piko Hammer of hers in that game.

I then felt a tugging feeling throughout myself.

"_Shadow, make sure you tell them to go to Soleanna_," I said as I shivered, "_You'll find us there_..." then everything went black for me before I found myself in my own body again.

I looked at my surroundings for a moment before knowing that I know for sure that I was back in my own body. I noticed Sonic and the others minding their own business, my guess is that they didn't notice me spiriting away from my body for a brief amount of time. Well, then again, I don't know if I was dreaming or not, but... I hope Shadow got my message...

...

Shadow thought over the words he thought he heard Maria say, but he was sure that looking in Soleanna first would be his best bet on finding Rouge.

"Well, guys!" Tails said as he closed the shell covering the Tornado's engine, "The Tornado's ready to go!"

"Great!" Amy smiled, "But where should we start looking?"

"...Soleanna would be our best bet," Shadow said after a few minutes.

"Why Soleanna?" Vanilla asked this as Merhea, Cream and Cheese were listening.

"..." Shadow didn't say anything for a moment, then said, "If we find Rouge, she and I will be able to find Sonic."

"Okay then," Tails said as he started powering up the Tornado with Merhea's Chaos Emerald, "Soleanna it is!"

...

**(End of the Ninth Crystal)**

...

**Authoress' Note:** Yes, I know that Sonic Next wasn't very well received, but I couldn't think of any other faraway place. And the reason why Elise's father (the Duke of Soleanna) is alive, Maria has already said it.

**References:** When Sonic said he felt like he was being kidnapped by a giant turtle, Maria made a somewhat obvious reference to Bowser always kidnapping Princess Peach in the Mario games. You see, turtles are slow, and so is Bowser. And since Sonic can't stand slow things... you should get what I mean.

When Maria said "Make like a tree and see...", she made a joke based on the pun of "Make like a tree and leave". However, instead of it being a pun, Maria says it literally. You see, she's actually a very literal person. Her strange way of speaking things (as do mine) can leave a lot of people speechless over the somewhat ridiculous yet very true things she says. You know what they say, you should do your research.

When Maria mentioned Sonic not carrying any rings when he was imprisoned by the Golem, she made an obvious reference to the actual Sonic games. I often wondered if such items such as Goal Rings for example even exist in the actual Sonic world at all; this, of course, leads to yet another one of those things that Maria gets ticked off about.

The Comical Beatings and Rants of Doom (CBRD for short) never takes place in Maria's point of view, this is because that Maria is too crazed on beating up her victim to even say anything in description. The only times whenever Maria does the CBRD on someone is either whenever someone calls her "idiot, moron, etc.", or whenever she snaps in a crazed way. Yes, I know that the CBRD is strange, but I find it very funny, do you?

According to a video game script that the fan site "Sonic Cult" obtained, it was said that Elise's name in early development of _Sonic Next_ was "Oliga the Third", which is why Maria mentioned it. I don't know why, but the name "Oliga" scares me a little. Not only that, "Elise" is a more suitable name anyway.

I hope you enjoyed the Ninth Crystal, because I'll post the Tenth Crystal in a few weeks.


	10. The Bite of Reality

My thanks to the Namless Daydreamer and shadowdragon91 for leaving reviews, I'm glad you like RotCG.

Sorry that I was late with the Tenth Crystal, I had this ready a week ago, but I had to concentrate on my studies first.

Enjoy the Tenth Crystal, and don't be shy to review, I would love to hear your opinions.

...

**The Tenth Crystal: The Bite of Reality**

...

"I'm back everyone!"

I snapped out of my random thoughts as the four of us noticed Elise returning with six people; four of them seem to be either servants or some of those evil female guards of Elise's that I can't stand for some weird reason, one man was the doctor, and the last one... was an old man. I then realized that I still had the crystalline features over my right eye, since it's still regenerating little by little. I can't let the doctor see this, so I covered my right eye with my hair. Speaking of my hair, the bottom half still retained the crystalline blue. Thankfully, no one from Elise's side seemed to care too much about it, which is good enough for me. Because right now, I'm only concerned about Sonic right now, because he's the one who needs help, not me.

"Maria?"

I yet again snapped out of my other random thoughts of whatever I was thinking as I turned to Sonic and all the other... people that's there. I shivered ever so slightly, because I absolutely hate, hate, hate, hate, and I mean HATE crowds. Reason why? It's because it feel like you're being surrounded by people that want to do whatever they can to get their hands on you, and this time it's people from a royal or high rank or... something... Yeah, I know, it's weird. But I can't put it in any other way. I mean, I've hated crowds like these ever since I was a little kid, so those who hate crowds know what I mean, right?

"What do you need, Sonic?" I said in a uninterested tone, which caught the attention of some of the guards, though I couldn't tell which.

"Aren't you going to get your injuries treated?" Sonic gave me what seemed to be a concerned look, which seemed unusual of him in my view. Then again, he's been acting a little different ever since Merhea and I somehow got ourselves into his world, so I guess that makes sense.

"I don't need your sympathy for my well being," I said as I placed my hand over my left shoulder, "You worry about yourself for now, I don't need a doctor for injuries like these, I've had worser injuries than these."

"Including your...?" Sonic trailed off as he didn't seem to want the others know about the fate of my right eye.

"Yes, including that," I said with a scowl on my face, which I could tell that it was slightly intimidating, since it made Sonic, Knuckles, Rouge, and even Elise blinked as their eyes widened a bit. The old man (which I'm guessing was the Duke, Elise's father) also gave me a strange look (which I've been getting _**way**_ too many of those), and the doctor gave me a look of concern. As for the servants... I don't know, because they didn't react in anyway.

"But..." it was then Elise gently grabbed my arm as she spoke this, "If we don't get your wounds treated, then they could get infected."

"Why is it that you're so concerned, Elise?" I said as I pulled my arm gently from her grasp and turned away, "If you've been living in my home place as long as I have, you'd get it..."

"What do you mean?" Elise asked.

"What I mean is-... Kuh!" I was instantly kicked at the right side and fell to my knees...

...

"Rouge! Why'd you do that?!"

Sonic looked at Rouge with a somewhat angry look on his face as Knuckles kept him on his feet, for he was both upset and shocked that Rouge had kicked Maria at the side. Maria had a somewhat surprised and slightly painful look on her face, but she did not cry out in pain, not even a whimper. However, she did take a somewhat deep breath as she too also had an angry look on her face.

"What? I was only trying to make her go to the doctor," Rouge smirked.

"What...?!" everyone but Maria seemed shocked at this.

"Well, if you're going to do that..." Maria said somewhat angrily as she stood up, still gripping her injured side, "You're going to have to do better than this..." With that said, she started to walk away...

"Maria..." Sonic moved his lips without actually speaking. Even though she seemed fine despite her injuries, he was still a little concerned for her. For starters, she showed signs of being incredibly stubborn, she even went as far as to injuring herself to save Sonic. She showed little to no concern for herself during the time she carried Sonic out of the puppet Golem's lair, and all the way out from Angel Island to Soleanna's royal castle. He wondered... what is with her?

"Wait, please wait..." Elise looked at Maria with concern before she even took three steps.

"I'm fine, Elise," Maria said with her back still facing them as she stopped, "But I thank you for your help, just ask your servants to treat Sonic."

Sonic had enough of this, "Maria."

"What do you need?" Maria said as she somewhat glared at Sonic, but not as intimidating as before.

"If you want my injuries to be treated..." Sonic paused for a brief moment before saying as he looked up at Maria, "...I won't let the doctors treat me until you're treated."

Maria simply rose a brow as she looked down at Sonic, and saw that he had a determined look on his face. What surprised her was that Sonic attempted to stand on his own by letting go of Knuckles (much to his surprise), he stood a little shakily, but he was able to stand. She then had a somewhat sorrowful look on her face.

"Mph..." Maria sighed and grunted a little as she scratched the back of her neck, "I'm too soft..." she mumbled, which confused Sonic for a moment. Her attention went back to Sonic as she then saw a somewhat relieved look on Sonic's face, "You've got guts to give me a look like that. Fine, I'll let the doctors treat my injuries as well. However..." Sonic could tell that this caught the attention of everyone, especially Elise, "I get to treat the injuries unless I ask for help from the doctor."

Sonic thought things over for a moment, then smiled a little, "You've got it."

"Hmph," Maria smiled ever so slightly as she walked over and placed her hand on his head with a single pat, which confused Sonic for a moment. He was snapped out of his thoughts as soon as Maria lifted her hand away and started to walk to the direction where Elise returned from. However, she stopped at looked at the doctor for a moment, since he wore a white jacket-like shirt along with tan-colored scrubs. Maria smirked for a brief moment, "Oh, and Doc, I hate to say something embarrassing but... your shirt's on backwards."

"_**WHAT?!**_"

Sonic and his friends sweatdropped because of this.

With all of that aside, as Sonic (who was being carried by Maria against his will again, but he didn't complain) and all of the others were being led to the infirmary area, he silently hoped that Merhea was still okay.

"Wait just a little while longer, Merhea..." Sonic muttered to himself without actually speaking, "You're still too young to suffer loneliness..."

...

"_**ACHOO!**_"

"Bless you," Cream said sweetly.

"Someone talking about you?" Vanilla smiled a little.

"Huh?" Merhea sniffed after her sneeze as she looked at Vanilla curiously, "What do you mean by that, Miss Vanilla?"

"Hmm hmm hmm... Sorry," Vanilla chuckled, then gently placed her finger over Merhea's forehead, "You see, there's a superstition that's been around for hundreds of years saying that if someone's talking about you, you sneeze."

"Oh..." Merhea then had a thinking look on her face before laughing, "Ahahaha! That's funny! Isn't it, Cream? Hehehe!"

"Hehehe! It sure is!" Cream said in response, "Mama's always able to make us laugh!"

While Vanilla was entertaining the young children, Tails made some last minute adjustments onto the Tornado as he was checking for any mistakes he might have made. After a few more minutes of tinkering...

"All right!" Tails said as he rubbed off some grease from his face, "The Tornado is all set!" He then rounded up everyone, for they made up as Vanilla, Cream, Cheese, Merhea, Amy, and Shadow, "Okay, since there's only enough room for four people to inside the Tornado, two of you will have to ride on the wings."

"I'd rather stay in the plane, thank you..." Merhea said as she made a somewhat sick face.

"That's definitely obvious," Amy said as she smiled a little, "I guess I'll have to ride one wing."

"I'll ride the other," Shadow said shortly afterwards.

"Well, since that's settled..." Tails then climbed into the Tornado, "Everyone, hop on!"

...

Eesh...

Since Sonic managed to corner me with his choice for words, I had no choice but to let my wounds be treated in order for Sonic to let the doctors treat his. Regardless, at least the doctors (yes, I'm meaning more than one) are letting me treat my own injuries. My only concern is my eye that's slowly regenerating on its own somehow, since I don't want the doctors to go bonkers... or nutso... or crazy, or... whatever, you get the point.

My eye was covered with dry, crusted blood. With a little difficulty, I was able to pick off the scabs. To my surprise, the wound didn't reopen, for it somewhat (yet almost) instantly healed over it with a thin layer of crystallized skin, which was weird. Well... I guess I can't complain about it, saves me the trouble on trying to clean up blood that might flow out of my eye area. Anyways... I had all these thoughts within my mind as I covered my eye with gauze, I wasn't sure if antiseptic was necessary, but I put a bit of it on the gauze anyway just in case, because I didn't my eye to get infected. I then placed a white bandage over the gauze so that way it won't fall off as easily, then sealed the gauze even more properly in order for it to stick better. With the task of my eye being treated out of the way, I came out of the medical room I was using. It wasn't a very big room, but it was enough for my satisfaction.

...Not to mention that Knuckles and Rouge ran off somewhere. And no, I'm not saying that they're going out on a date. I'm pretty sure that Knuckles ran off somewhere in search of those Master Emerald shards, and Rouge apparently decided to go somewhere possibly in the opposite direction on search of those pretty gems that she loves so much. Then again, I'm beginning to think that Rouge also decided to pester Knuckles whenever she gets the chance as she's also probably searching for the Master Emerald shards as well. Speaking of which, I haven't seen them since I took Sonic to the doctors for medical treatment on his injuries... Hmm... I wonder where those crazy treasure hunters dug off to this time...

...What? They have digging tools. If they didn't, then they wouldn't be called treasure hunters now, would they?

After coming out of the room I was using, I saw the same doctor from earlier. He did give me a somewhat concerned look, but I shrugged it off as I walked over to his medical room. After setting myself on the medical table, I took off my shirt, revealing my black sports bra. You may think that it's embarrassing to take off your clothes in front of a doctor (which is a little at first), but hey, he's a doctor, and doctors need to examine skin in order to heal the wounds. Well... I might as well not say anything else... Anyways... I moved my hair out the way in order for the doctor to look on my left shoulder, it was then I noticed how deep the bite mark that Sonic had left on me in the puppet Golem's lair. Man... after seeing the actual bite mark, I was able to remember the extreme pain that Sonic had to give me in order to avoid hurting himself too much. All and all, I really don't care, to be honest. Because I think it was all worth it in order to help someone in need... especially for a friend...

"Ooh boy... Talk about a nasty bite," the doctor commented, "What happened?"

"I..." I paused a bit, choosing my words carefully, "I had to help a friend, I made him bite me so he wouldn't hurt his teeth."

"I see," the doctor said in response, though he didn't seem to believe me. Thankfully, he seemed to have decided not to push the matter any further, since he started applying antiseptic on the wound on my shoulder. He then placed a bit of gauze over it before wrapping it. I had to take off my sports bra in order for it to stay on properly, but I didn't mind since the doctor looked away as I wrapped the clean bandages around my chest. I then placed my bra back on as the doctor checked to see if I wrapped the bandages properly. Once he gave me the thumbs-up approval, I left the doctor's room as I put my blue and black shirt back on...And since I didn't know my way around the Soleanna Castle... I wandered around in hopes of finding Sonic... In this insanely large castle... and stuff and junk and... whatever...

I walked down yet another one of those insanely large hallways with nothing to do in my mind, all I can do right now is to wait for Shadow. Then again, I don't know if I was actually did spirit away into Shadow's body. And even if I did, I don't know if he could actually sense me. I mean, I know that I helped him escape Eggman's clutches due to this method... but how am I doing this? Man... I need to stop asking myself ridiculous questions.

I looked around the hallway as I walked, numerous beautiful statues that were amazingly crafted were on display on the sides of the hallway. Not only that, there were also numerous paintings all over the place. For some reason, I feel like I'm in the Sistine Chapel or something. I mean, sure, I've never been in that Chapel, but I've seen the pictures on the ceilings in my history books from school. Speaking of school... I know I've probably missed a whole lot of homework assignments, I might even be declared dead already back at home... No... I better not think about that right now... For once... I... I don't want to...

...go home...

I mentally slapped myself, what am I thinking?! Merhea and I _have_ to go home! We don't belong here, we never did! Ugh... Man... I hope Sonic will fulfill his promise soon enough, because we don't belong here in this world. With that in mind, I mustn't have any ties to Sonic's world. Otherwise... Merhea and I won't _want_ to leave... but we have to... as soon as possible...

"Maria?"

The person who spoke my name snapped me out of my thoughts. Good grief... I keep getting snapped out of my thoughts _way_ too many times for my own comfort. Because this is not only getting old, it's also beginning to become annoying. Oh well... nothing I can do about that. I then turned and...

"Huh?" I blinked as I saw... "Elise?"

"You're lost, aren't you?" Elise grinned as she said this.

...I _hate_ it when they're _right_...

"...Yes..." I said as I closed my eyes with my eyebrows twitching.

"Do you want to check on Sonic?" Elise said, not that I was interested until... "The doctors are done operating."

"Wait... Say what?!" I had a surprised (and slightly worried) look on my face, I then (but gently) grabbed Elise's shoulders, "Where is he?!"

"Well..." Elise blinked at me in surprise, "He is-..."

"_**WHAUGH!!**_" both Elise and I stepped away from each other to avoid... an arrow that shot out of nowhere!

"What the...?!" my eyebrows were twitching as soon as I realized that the arrow had missed my head by inches, possibly even centimeters, "_**GOOD GRIEF!!"**_

"Don't ever harass Princess Elise..." I turned and saw about thirty feet away one of the female guards speaking in a somewhat creepy tone. Uh... okay, since when does a modern princess have archery guards?

"Nanny..." Elise looked at her with an annoyed look on her face as the female guard approached us, "She wasn't harassing me, she was just desperate. And please, didn't Father tell you to not use your bow in the castle? Because you almost hit our guest."

"...My apologies, Your Highness," the woman who proclaimed to be... wait a second... her nanny?! Then again... Elise doesn't have a mother, so I guess that's understandable...

"It's all right," Elise said, "Just don't do it again..." she then turned to me, "Um... are you all right?"

"I'm fine..." I turned away from both Elise and her "nanny archer" with my eyebrows still twitching and my body still a little shaken, "I just need to go somewhere and laugh like an idiot now..."

...

Sonic sighed a little heavily as he laid on the bed he was suppose to rest on with a somewhat irritated look on his face. Although the doctors operated on his hands pretty quickly, he still felt the same stinging pain within them. Well... at least he can move his fingers without hurting them even more now. Heaving a sigh again, Sonic picked up a nearby book that one of the nurses left for him with a little difficulty due to the think bandages wrapped around his palms (though he was glad that his fingers didn't need to be covered), since they left for whatever reason that Sonic doesn't care about knowing. Even though he's able to walk and run again (much to his enjoyment), the doctors instructed him to stay in bed in order for his wounds to heal faster. He would've have refused and just go run somewhere, but after realizing that Maria went through somewhat of a massive hassle in order to get his wounds treated, Sonic thought it would've been best to go with the "flow" as he calls it.

"Hmm... '_Mythical Beasts and Creatures of the Unknown_'... Huh..." Sonic read the title on the spine as he opened the book, "Sounds interesting..."

Most of the so-called "Mythical Beasts and Creatures" weren't so unknown to him, because he's fought against a variety of mythical monsters before. Such as the mutated Chao named Chaos, along with an evil genie, and possibly a dragon or two. Then again, a small variety of Eggman's robots seemed to have been based off some of these mythical creatures. Sonic skipped a few pages since they didn't seem too interesting in his opinion.

"Falcifur Dragoon... Huh... a fire-breathing one, not bad..." Sonic skimmed through the words, but nothing interesting popped up. With that in mind, he skipped a few more pages before reaching the "G" section. "Galbadia Sulfaria... Galbieca Sputnik..." Sonic continued reading the randomly strange names that seemed strange to him as he reached a new name every few pages until... "Gaezea Salamander... Gobotnik Basiliskus... Golems... Goltheic Bir...dus..." Sonic paused for a moment before turning a few pages back, "Wait... Golems...?!" Sonic then looked at the Golem section of the book, and found some shocking info, "No... way..."

"Okay, that is the _**last**_ time I'm going to be near that crazy woman ever again!" Sonic turned and saw Maria entering the door with Elise behind her.

"But Nanny said she was sorry..." Elise said as if she was trying to calm Maria down.

"I know, but..." Maria turned to Elise, "But that arrow almost hit your head too, and I think that nanny of yours is trying to murder me or something..."

Sonic didn't know what Maria was talking about, so he decided to stay quiet, not that it mattered anyway. Sonic looked at the book again as he read the part that shocked him, if she ever found out... Sonic quickly shook the thought out of his mind and turned a few pages ahead into the "H" section until...

"What's that you're reading, Sonic?" Sonic froze and saw Maria looking at the book he was holding with interest, "It's got some pretty pictures, I'll say that."

"Um..." Sonic had to choose his words carefully, since he didn't want to spill the info that could be true about the Golems, "It's a book about mythical beasts and creatures, one of the nurses left it here for me to read."

"Mind if I read it with you?" Maria asked as she took a nearby chair that one of the doctors was using earlier and sat next to Sonic.

"...Not at all..." Even though Sonic actually didn't mind Maria wanting to read it, he hoped that Maria won't want to read everything from the beginning.

"Well, since you're going to do that," both Sonic and Maria turned to Elise, "I'll tell the chefs to get the dinner going, since it's almost five thirty," she then turned to leave, "At my best guess, the dinner will be ready in about one hour."

"Eh... tell the chefs that I prefer simple food, nothing complex," Maria said.

"Sure thing," Elise smiled, "Anyway, I hope your injuries heal soon."

"Thanks, see you Elise," Maria said as Elise had left the room. She then turned to Sonic, "I'm surprised you didn't say anything to her."

"Sorry," Sonic quickly apologized, "Didn't want to interrupt."

"I see. Eh..." Maria trailed off for a moment, "Don't worry about it," Without warning a tremor shook the whole castle... "Huh?!" Not wasting a moment, Maria ran over to the nearest window, "Oh, good grief... Urk...!" she then gripped her chest painfully.

"What's wrong?" Sonic asked, relieved that Maria didn't read the book much, but he was concerned due to her expression.

"Something's out there, I can feel it..." Maria gagged for a moment... before roaring in pain...

_No.. it can't be... _Sonic thought, hoping he was wrong. However, he knew he was correct as soon as he saw crystalline fangs... _Not again_...

...

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"_No!_"

"...Are we there yet?"

"_**NO!**_"

"Aw..."

For the past five minutes Merhea has been asking either Tails or Vanilla about when they'll arrive to Soleanna. Although Tails has been showing somewhat obvious signs that he finds Merhea's questioning a little annoying, she is only a young kid, so he can't blame her for being a little bored, since they've been on the Tornado for the past three hours. Thanks to the Chaos Emerald that Merhea let Tails use, they didn't have any need of stopping for fuel. However, they did stop almost every hour due to Merhea's slight case of motion sickness.

"Are we there yet...? I don't feel so good..." Merhea placed her hand over her mouth, not wanting to get the urge of throwing up.

"Were almost there, dearie," Vanilla said in an attempt to comfort her, "Don't worry, we'll find Sonic and Maria soon enough."

"...Will we see them again when we get there?"

"I hope so," Vanilla said as she rubbed Merhea's head. She then looked at her daughter and saw Cream and Cheese fast asleep, she then looked at both side of the wings and saw Amy one wing and Shadow on the other. Both of them seemed determined to find what they're after, Vanilla is well aware that Amy has obviously wanted to find Sonic. As for Shadow... she wasn't too sure, because Shadow is often a hard code to crack. However, Vanilla wasn't going to let that bother her.

"Tails," Vanilla spoke after a few moments.

"Yeah?" glanced at Vanilla before turning his head forward again.

"How much longer is it towards Soleanna?" Vanilla asked.

"I can see it up ahead," Tails said as he pointed forward, "I don't know why Shadow wants to go there, but we have to use every lead we've got."

"I see..."

Shadow didn't say anything throughout the whole flight as he was keeping his balance on the Tornado's right wing. Sure, he could've gotten to Soleanna on his own, but with Soleanna being surrounded by water, he had to use a different tactic to get there. He wasn't only worried about Rouge, he was also concerned for Maria as well. Whatever was enabling her to enter Shadow's mind, whether on purpose or not, he had to know how she was able to do it. Shadow then looked to his left and saw Amy also keeping her balance on the Tornado's left wing by crouching in a certain manner before turning his attention towards a piece of land up ahead, which Shadow confirmed that it was Soleanna. However, what he saw was something he wasn't expecting...

A blood-red explosion just bursted out from Soleanna...

"Chaos Blast..." Shadow muttered as his eyes widened a little. What could have caused that?

"Everyone!" Amy reacted as soon as she saw the explosion, "Did you see that?!"

"You bet we did, Amy!" Tails said, "We better see what's going on!" It wasn't until about a few minutes afterwards that Tails was able to land the Tornado in a good spot near the explosion, though he had to land near the Soleanna Castle in order to do so. After he landed, everyone got out of the Tornado in search of the source. However, the place didn't look like an explosion even took place, "I don't get it..." Tails muttered, "Why aren't there any traces...?"

"Tails! Above you!!" Amy cried out.

Tails barely had enough time to react as a large pillar-like object was about to fall on him... until a familiar crystallized clawed hand grabbed it and tossed (more likely threw) it aside.

"Wha...?" Tails and everyone else were cut off as they heard a familiar painful roar... They all turned and saw a familiar person going on another terrifying rampage...

"**BIG SIS!!**" Merhea screamed in an attempt to get her attention. However, her sister was oblivious to her cries.

Maria's appearance looked different from the first time she went on a rampage. In the previous rampage, she had thick arms and legs that could crush almost anything. In the rampage she is in now, her arms were crystallized in its regular size, except for the abnormally large claws. Her legs also had the same features. Her black sneakers also seemed to have transformed as well, since they looked a bit larger than they used to be. Two crystalline fangs could be seen poking out of her mouth ever so slightly as she let out an angry and painful growl. Her hair had the bottom half a crystalized blue like it had always been whenever she was crystallized. However, only one feature was missing...

"Her eye is...!" even Shadow couldn't completely hide his surprise and shock as he looked at Maria with widened eyes. Her eye that was usually crystallized was covered in gauze and bandages, as if she had gotten herself into a fight with something.

"_**GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!**_" Maria roared in anger and pain as she leaped over Tails and the others as they saw someone on Maria's back...

"**SONIC?!**" Amy cried out as her eyes widened in surprise.

Sonic quickly turned his head towards them as he held on to Maria's back, but couldn't say anything in response as both he and Maria had disappeared somewhere into the city due to Maria running off somewhere.

"After them!" Amy said as she ran ahead with Tails and Shadow following, leaving Vanilla, Merhea, Cream, and Cheese with the Tornado.

"Mama..." Cream looked up at her mother as Cheese squeaked sadly.

"Don't worry," Vanilla said soothingly to her daughter, "I'm sure they'll bring her back to her senses, right Merhea?"

"... Huh? ...Yeah..." Merhea said in response, however, she didn't seem convinced. Since she was actually beginning to cry as she tried to blink back the tears.

"Do you want to go after them?" Vanilla said as she placed her hand on Merhea's shoulder, "You're her sister, meaning that she loves you more than anything."

"Unh..." Merhea made a sad sound and nodded with a determined look on her face as she took out the blue Chaos Emerald from the Tornado.

"All right. Let's go get them," it was then Vanilla and the others ran off towards the direction of where Tails and the others have headed, leaving the Tornado behind...

...

"Thanks for saving Tails, Maria..."

"..."

_She still won't speak to me_...

Even in Maria's transformed state, she still didn't respond to any of Sonic's words unless it was a command. However, even if it was a command, it had to be something like that of an "emergency". Otherwise it to seem to Maria that it wasn't even worth her time. Regardless, she continued to run off in random parts of the city. Even though Sonic didn't have to hold onto her back, he still didn't think it was a good idea to start running yet, or else he'll risk losing her somewhere in the city. Despite the fact that Sonic could find her easily if he loses sight of her in Soleanna, he has no idea about which route is which, which could make him lose precious time. Even so, at least Maria has made no attempts of attacking him, but why? She did attack him the previous time she went on a rampage...

_Unless_... Sonic thought. _That she __**isn't**__ on a rampage?_

He then became a little worried for her, if she wasn't on a rampage, then what has she become? It was then he noticed that Maria was actually faster than she was last time, not to mention that her crystalline features weren't as bulky as they were last time.

_Could these features have anything to do with her behavior?_ Sonic wondered, then took a deep breath. _Okay, calm down, hedgehog. Think this through... Let's see, um... I remember the first time I met her, and she didn't seem to remember anything. And the second time when we came across Eggman, her features were different compared to the ones she has now... And this time, she seems faster than she was before... Unless... That's it!_ "Hey! Maria! Stop for a second!" Maria did as she was told and skidded to a stop, just like the way Sonic himself would, with this in mind... _Heh, just as I thought_...

A sound of an aircraft of some sort then cut Sonic out of his thoughts. Reacting quickly he looked up and saw, "Eggman!" With a jolt, Sonic saw Eggman in his trademark hovercraft turn his head to him and saw both Sonic and Maria. Sonic gave him a somewhat intimidating look, but Maria said and gave him a blank look that could pierce into one's mind.

"So... Here to foil my so-called plans, Sonic?" Eggman asked as his brows furrowed.

"What are you doing here, Eggman?" Sonic asked as he let go of Maria's back, "Here to summon another Golem to kill us?" Normally, Sonic would smirk. But after experiencing the wrath of the Golems in that chamber he was imprisoned in before being rescued by Maria, he knew that Golems are more deadly than any robot that Eggman has ever built. Knowing this, this is no laughing matter.

"I would, but I've got my hands full," Eggman said before he turned back to the direction he was previously facing as he yelled out, "All right, my Egg Pawns! CHARGE!!"

"What...?!" Sonic muttered as he saw numerous Egg Pawns appear out of nowhere as they charged at... "Golems...?!" _I don't get it... Why is Eggman fighting the Golems? Wasn't he the one who summoned them in the first place?_ True to Sonic's words and thoughts, the Egg Pawns charged forward as a few of them were being destroyed by a small group of Golems, some of them were pewter, and about three of then were... _Puppet Golems?!_ Sonic thought in shock.

The puppet Golems looked a lot like the one that Maria had destroyed on Angel Island, except that these Puppet Golems were about half its size, and that they were a crimson blood-red instead of a pyrite yellow color. They too also had baby doll-like faces, but they also had blood rosy-red cheeks painted on them. Their eyes looked like the pyrite-colored Puppet Golem as well, only they were a sparkling crimson ruby red. Their spider-like arms and legs were of black and purple in contrast of its crimson red body. The "hair" of the Puppet Golems were a straight, thin solid black that reached down about two feet, as if it had recently been combed.

_It can't be_... Sonic thought as he saw the remaining Egg Pawns were quickly being destroyed.

"_**GRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!**_"

Sonic was almost knocked off of his feet as Maria let out a roar of fury as she charged towards the Golems herself.

"What?!" Eggman became surprised at Maria's actions, "Sonic! What is that girl thinking?!" Before Sonic could answer, however, Maria's crystalline features had quickly changed... into the features she had in her previous rampage... The glowing blue diamond shape appeared on her chest as her arms and legs became more muscular as they turned into thicker crystalline limbs, the two spikes also jutted out of the back through her shirt. Her bandaged eye remained unaffected due to the large Puppet Golem that stabbed her. All of this happened with mere seconds as she slammed her left arm at multiple Golems and Egg Pawns alike against the walls nearby, destroying them.

"Oh, good grief..." Sonic muttered as Eggman hovered closer towards Sonic. Both Eggman and Sonic were seeing Maria tearing the Pewter Golems apart every few seconds, however, she seemed _slower_ than she was before. _I knew it... apparently she can change into a either a "speed form" or a "power form"... But she can't be both at the same time..._

"She's that same girl that foiled my plans twice, am I right?" Eggman said as he looked at Sonic before looking back at Maria again, in case she makes any sudden movements.

"Yeah, she is," Sonic nodded, "I don't know what's making her like this, but we need to stop her once she destroys those Golems. Because if we don't, she might destroy everything in her path. Speaking of which..." Sonic then looked at Eggman suspiciously, "How come you're not commanding those creeps?"

"I only commanded those two Pewter Golems that your little friend destroyed yesterday," Eggman explained, "I didn't think there would be more of them, they started appearing out of an island near my base."

_Reminds me of Chaos for some weird reason_... Sonic thought to himself before...

"SONIC!!"

"Huh?" Sonic barely had enough time to react as soon as he saw Amy before giving him a tackle hug, almost knocking him off his feet, "Wha...?! Amy?!"

"Oh, Sonic! I was so worried!" Amy held on to Sonic tightly, making him choke a little.

"Amy... stop... can't... breathe..." Amy instantly released Sonic in order for him to regain his breath, "Don't do that..."

"Sonic!"

Sonic and the others turned and saw Tails with Shadow following, with that seen, Sonic was relieved to see Tails safe and sound.

"Sonic, I can't believe it..." Tails seemed unable to contain his excitement as he hugged Sonic, "We finally found you!"

"Heh heh..." Sonic gave out a dry chuckle as he rubbed Tails' head, "Yeah... It's good to see you again..."

"What's the Doctor doing here?" Shadow asked as he glared at Eggman.

"I'm here to destroy these Golems that were destroying everything," Eggman said, "Besides, how can I take over the city if there is no city?"

_Where have I heard that before_... Sonic thought as he had a "Yeah, right" look on his face before turning back to Maria, who was still rampaging around and continued tearing of the red Puppet Golems apart as the other two were attempting to pull her away.

"Sonic! Your hands..." Amy muttered as she quickly grabbed one of them and examined the bandages, "What happened?"

"I'll tell you later," Sonic said as he gently pulled his hand away, "Right now we need to help Maria destroy those things."

"You can count on it!" Amy then quickly pulled out her hammer from somewhere and charged at the Golems before ramming one off of Maria. Reacting to Amy's attack, Maria took the chance to tear apart the Golem that Amy knocked off, which she did so quickly.

"...Though I wasn't saying to do that right off the bat, but..." Sonic trailed off before saying, "I guess that works too."

Without anything else to say, Sonic charged forward and did his trademark spin attacks on the last Golems with Shadow following afterwards. The three hedgehogs (composed of Sonic, Shadow, and Amy) quickly dashed out of the way as soon as they heard Maria roar, since she charged at the last red Puppet Golem, showing it no mercy as she tore it apart. It was then Sonic noticed that all of the Egg Pawns and Golems were destroyed, due to the massive heap of rocks and metal alike.

Though to Sonic's surprise, Eggman didn't seem all that angry with his tiny army being destroyed.

"You're not gonna jump around and do your so-called 'This isn't the last time you'll see me' thing?" Sonic asked rather bluntly.

"And if I did that, I bet your little friend would just tear me apart," Eggman said simply, then looked up, "I think you might want to catch her, because she's about to run off somewhere again."

"What are you-...?" Sonic was cut off by a small breeze, signaling that Maria ran off somewhere... again... "Aw, great..." Sonic grunted a little in annoyance before running after her, leaving Amy and the others with... Eggman.

"Don't look at me, you guys," Eggman said as he still sat in his hovercraft and crossed his arms, "I have nothing to do with this, I was actually trying to stop those things."

"Why don't you prove it?" Shadow said as he growled a little under his breath, with Tails and Amy also giving Eggman looks of distrust.

"Very well," Eggman pressed something on his hovercraft as it launched a projection of the previous events, from the time when Eggman ordered his Egg Pawns to Maria beginning to destroy the Golems. After all of that shown, Eggman turned off the projector, "Now do you see?"

"Fine..." Shadow then crossed his arms in response.

...

Sonic continued running after Maria for the past few minutes as he saw remains of Pewter Golems almost left and right.

_She's gotta be around here somewhere_... Sonic thought. _Awgh, dang it! I should kept a closer eye on her!_ "Ouch!" Sonic yelped as he felt something hit his left shoulder, he quickly turned and saw a red-colored rock of some sort as it fell deep into the water nearby. Thinking of nothing else, Sonic continued running in search of Maria.

_**CLANGU!!**_

"Eh?" looked to his right and saw Maria tearing a Pewter Golem with a steel plate across its body apart, she gave out an angry and painful growl as soon as she dropped one of its arms. She then shook a little as she gripped her chest while having a look of suffering on her face.

"Urgh... Ahuh!" Maria then coughed up something she hadn't done in a while...

"Blood..." Sonic muttered in disgust.

"...Geh?" it was then Maria had noticed Sonic standing about a few yards away from her, "_**GWAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!**_" before grabbing Sonic and pinned him against the wall...

_**KARACKU!!**_ Came the sound of crushing brick...

"Maria, what you doing?!" Sonic tried to pry himself free, but Maria's grasp proved to be too strong.

"Grrrrrrrrrr..." Maria growled as she exposed her crystalline fangs, as if she was about to bite something. Sonic then noticed something about her.

Her left eye was a menacing violet color, with a black cross-shaped pupil and black sclera...

"Wha...? When did it..." Sonic was cut off by Maria's growling. _When did it... change color?_ He then remembered something from the book he read not too long ago as soon as he saw Maria growling,... _Oh no... is she about to...?_ "Maria! STOP!" Sonic had a desperate look on his face as he said this, "Stop! This isn't like you!"

Maria ignored Sonic's words as she growled again. _Oh man_... Sonic thought. _She's lost it... If that book's right, then I'll be_...

_**BIKI!**_ Came a sickening sound...

"Wha...?" Sonic had his eyes down to his left shoulder and saw something that almost made him vomit. Large violet-colored veins were beginning to emerge from the spot where the rock from earlier had hit him, and it was slowly spreading... "Ah?! What the...?!"

"Grr...?!" Maria's violet-colored eye widened at the sight of it, then gave out an angry growl, "GRR!!"

"Maria, wait!" Sonic tried once again to free himself, but Maria's grip had not diminished. Cold sweat caked over the side of his head as Maria growled, "Maria! Stop! Don't do it!"

She then bit into Sonic's left shoulder before he could think of anything else...

...

**(End of the Tenth Crystal)**

...

**Authoress' Note:** Yes, I made Elise have a nanny that's an archer. I added her there for some humor, but don't worry, you won't see her much.

**References:** For those of you who don't know, there is a Japanese superstition saying that if someone is talking about you, you sneeze. This has been commonly shown in both anime and manga alike, so this pretty common when someone jokes about this. It's been around for hundreds (if not thousands) of years, so this superstition is old, but it's pretty funny if you ask me.

When Merhea said "Are we there yet?" with Tails saying "No" in response, this is pretty common when kids ask their parents these things whenever they go somewhere far away. There was also a watch that used be given out by a fast-food restaurant in America called Burger King that had _The Simpsons_ (an teen-to-adult rated American cartoon, I don't watch it) on it. It had a picture of the Simpsons in a car with Homer driving, with the kids saying "Are we there yet?" with Homer saying "No" in response, the watch will say the same thing every hour (this was a long time ago, of course). It seemed pretty humorous if you ask me.

The names Sonic read in the book called "_Mythical Beasts and Creatures of the Unknown_" were rejected names that I made up for some creatures that I designed. They still seemed pretty cool, so I put those in because I still wanted to use those names in some way.

When Eggman says "How can I take over the city if there is no city?" was a reference to one of his lines in game Shadow the Hedgehog. Of course, Sonic (nor did any of the Sonic crew in particular) never actually heard Eggman say this in the game. I find that line of his pretty funny, so I just _had_ to use it.


	11. A Family With No Link

My thanks for shadowdragon91, the Namless Daydreamer, and Mariko-ai-Chan for reviewing. I'm happy you girls like this story.

Let's see, as of this Crystal, Amy Alexis Rose has put me in her Author Alert list... and nothing much else... Oh well. Sorry, it's just that I would like to hear people's opinions on RotCG before they put me or my stories in any Alert List in particular, because I find it better that way.

Well, enjoy the Eleventh Crystal.

...

**The Eleventh Crystal: A Family With No Link**

...

"Mama, I don't see them!"

"Chao Chao!"

"We'll have to keep trying, Cream. We can't give up yet!"

"I want to find Big Sis!"

While Vanilla was trying to calm down a desperately energetic Merhea, both Cream and Cheese were flying around in nearby location in search of Sonic and possibly Maria. Unfortunately, they found no signs of the two people they were looking for. Frustrated and disappointed, Cream and Cheese landed near Vanilla and Merhea, "We can't find them, Mama..."

"Find who?"

The small group looked up and saw two treasure hunters that they're (except Merhea) all all too familiar with.

"Well, well," Rouge said as she smirked, "Looks like you guys need a hand."

"Rouge! Knuckles!" Vanilla reacted.

"Hey! Who said that you were the leader?!" Knuckles turned to Rouge with a sour expression on his face.

"I never said that," Rouge said.

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!**_"

"What was that?!" Cream clung onto Cheese as she looked around, trying to find the source of the scream, as did Merhea and the others.

"I heard it coming from this way," Rouge said as she pointed towards a certain direction, "Come on!"

...

"Did you guys hear that?" Amy asked as both Tails, Shadow, and Eggman were looking in random directions.

"Was that...?" Tails began before he was cut off by...

"I'm coming Sonic!" Amy shrieked as she ran off towards the direction of the scream as she gripped her hammer.

"Now I see why she sometimes attacks me..." Eggman muttered to himself as he and the others followed. After running around from numerous tips and turns, Amy and the others eventually found the other group looking for Sonic. They spent very little time to know what was what, but Shadow did pick up Merhea and carried her since she was slowest out of everyone.

"Shadow!" Rouge became surprised as she ran with Shadow, who was still carrying the little girl, "What are you doing here?"

"I was sent by GUN in order to find and bring you back to Headquarters," Shadow said as he looked ahead while he was running, "Nothing more."

"And Dr. Eggman?" Rouge said as she pointed at said person.

"He was fighting against some of those rock monsters," Shadow explained. Within the next few seconds, all of them reached an intersection that had numerous walled paths... meaning that only one of them will lead to Sonic.

"Great..." Knuckles grunted, "Which way now?"

Rouge stepped forward and twitched her ears, as did Cream and Tails. After what seemed to be an eternity, which was actually seconds, the three of them pointed at the one facing north.

"This way!" Rouge said as she flew ahead with the rest of them following. They kept on running until they saw...

...

"_**SONIC?!**_"

Sonic's eyes widened at the sound of Amy's voice, he then felt Maria's crystalline fangs leaving his left shoulder, which was stinging in pain, as she growled and looked at the nine people (ten if you count Cheese) that were there. To his surprise, Tails, Merhea, and even Vanilla, Cream, and Shadow were among them. He also saw Eggman, Knuckles, and Rouge, but they weren't of his concern. _Thank goodness_... Sonic thought as he had his teeth clenched in pain. _They finally found us_...

"What did you do to him?!" Amy yelled angrily as she gripped her hammer.

Maria, still in her crazed state, slowly released her grip on Sonic, who then collapsed with fatigue while breathing a little heavily as he gripped his shoulder. She then had her crystallized hands against the ground, as if she were a creature that was ready to pounce. Maria then growled as her violet colored eye looked as if it could pierce into one's mind.

"B... Big... Sis...? Big Sis...?" Merhea was trembling in Shadow's arms as she spoke.

"Grr...?!" Maria looked taken aback at the sound of her sister's voice, since her left eye widened a little. However, without warning, she then placed her right hand over her mouth as she made a somewhat gagging sound, "Mgh...?!"

"Maria?" with a little difficulty, Sonic shakily stood up and quickly went by her side, "What's wrong?"

"Muguh...!" Maria seemed to be on the first of throwing up, within seconds the others approached her cautiously as Shadow still had a protective grip over Merhea.

"Sonic," Amy still had a tight grip on her hammer, "What did she do to you...?"

"Um..." Sonic looked at his left shoulder, true enough, there were bite marks.

"She... **bit** you?!" Tails seemed a little horrified at this.

"Well..." Sonic tried to find the words, "I really don't..."

"_**GHACK!!**_"

Sonic reacted quickly by placing his hands on Maria's right arm, who was coughing uncontrollably, "Maria, it's okay, I'm here..." signaling that he was there for her, "Come on, Maria..." Sonic seemed desperate, "You need to stop coughing..."

"_**MUH-GRUH!**_" Maria then threw up what seemed to be blood, much to everyone's shock and disgust.

"Ew..." Sonic placed one of his bandaged hands over his mouth, "Hang in there Maria..." he then noticed Maria growling another vomiting sound, "Huh?"

"_**AHUH!!**_" something black then came out from her mouth as she coughed, and it was alive...

"What is that thing?!" Amy had a frightful expression on her face as the black, slimy thing moved... it then suddenly made a high-pitched "_**KII!**_" sound before it "died".

"What...?" everyone became confused over the entire thing.

"_**BLECK!!**_" everyone then turned to Maria, her limbs instantly returned to its normal, crystalline size as the two spikes on her back disappeared. Another thing that only Sonic had noticed was that Maria's left eye turned back from violet to emerald green.

"Maria...?" Sonic placed his hand on her head, "Are you okay?"

"Mwah...? What happened..." Maria said this more like a comment than a question as she placed her hand over her mouth, "Egh... I don't feel so good... Huh?" it was then she noticed the blood smeared over her lips, "Wha...? Why is there...?"

"You bit him," Amy said a little angrily, but Sonic knew that she was trying to keep her cool, since Maria only just went on a rampage.

"I... wha...?" Maria shook a little as she looked at her blood-stained, crystallized hand. She then looked at the dead "worm", "What did I just do...?"

Sonic looked at his left shoulder again. _I don't understand_... Sonic thought. _According to that book... it was said that certain parts from certain Golems can somehow poison anything they come into contact with... Wait a second!_ It was then Sonic realized that the veins on Sonic's arm had disappeared shortly after Maria bit him. _Maybe Maria_...? Sonic thoughts were cut off when he and the others saw a small black crow land close to the small pool of blood that Maria had regurgitated. No one moved or made a sound, except for the gentle humming of Eggman's hovercraft and Maria's somewhat deep sighs of breathing. The crow cawed something before it dared to lay its black beak on the dead "worm", thinking that it was food. It was about to fly away with it until a familiar sickening sound rang into Sonic's ears...

"_**BIKI!!**_"

"?!" Everyone looked at the crow with widened eyes. Small violet-colored veins were beginning to emerge from it...

"BIKI!... BIKI!... _BIKI!_ _BIKI! __**BIKI**__!_"

"_**CAW!**_" the crow cried in pain... "**CAW!** _CAW!_ Caaaawwww..." It then suddenly stopped moving as the worm disappeared into its body... the crow then turned into a grayish red color...

...and crumbled into dust...

"Wha... What...?" Maria was shaking uncontrollably, "D... Did I... just kill that crow...?" While the others were muttering to each other to see if they could find out what just caused the crow to die like that, Sonic continued to think things through.

_Maria must've grabbed me for __**some**__ reason, otherwise she wouldn't do it. Since she didn't attack me at all during that rampage_... Sonic thought as he constantly switched his attention from the bite marks on his shoulders, from the remains of the crow that recently crumbled into dust and died, and the "worm" that Maria coughed out. _Okay, since the veins also appeared on me, why did it kill the crow and not me? It first appeared on my shoulder, and that's when that red rock hit it_... Sonic then realized with a jolt. _That's it! Now I get it! Maria didn't __**inject**__ that poison into me... instead_... He looked at Maria again. _She must've __**sucked**__ it out of my body before the Golem's poison could spread, that rock that must've hit me earlier was probably part of a Golem that Maria tore apart. Well... it' the only logical assumption I could think of_...

"Big Sis!" Sonic was cut out of his thoughts again as he saw Maria collapse and fell unconscious, with Merhea crying next to her.

"Poor girl..." Vanilla placed her hand over Maria's head, "She's gone through so much... Why must she suffer like this?"

"I don't know much about her, but..." even Eggman showed sighs of pity, but it was barely visible, "I know that even I wouldn't want anyone to go through that. And this gives me all the more reason to destroy that Golem nest."

"Golem nest?" Sonic questioned, "You mean that island that was near your base like you mentioned earlier?"

"That's right," Eggman nodded, "Shortly after I took those two Chaos Emeralds from you guys, I saw those things attacking my base," Eggman huffed a little, "I then figured that if I could find all seven Chaos Emeralds, I would be able to use their power to destroy that nest."

"Why's that?" Tails asked, "Can't you just use highly destructive bombs or something?"

"Tried that," Eggman said, "The damaged areas instantly regenerated shortly afterwards."

"Bummer..." Tails sighed.

"Sonic," everyone turned and saw Amy speaking, "You haven't told us what happened to you."

"I..." Sonic took a deep breath as he looked at one of his bandaged hands, "I'll tell you once we get back to Soleanna Castle..."

...

Ouch...

What happened...?

I opened my eyes and found myself lying on a bed in some room, because I couldn't tell since my vision is all blurry again, but I'm probably in one of the many guest rooms in the Soleanna Castle. I sighed to myself. Good grief... I passed out again...? First I cough out blood from my mouth, then I pass out every time I go on a rampage, and now I throw up black worm-like things? Give me a break... I often wonder what will happen next. To any living creature, blood is life, and if I keep losing blood at this rate, I might die. And if I die... everyone I know will be upset, especially Merhea and Sonic... Wait... why am I thinking about Sonic? Well... that doesn't really matter, I think...

I closed my eyes since I'm beginning to get a migraine-like headache, which I then took a deep breath in response. I then realized that I had put away my glasses in one of my pockets during that fight with the yellow puppet Golem. Reaching my hand into my pocket, I noticed that someone had taken it. I silently cursed at myself, why would I leave them there anyway? Surely they might've been broken a long time ago. If that was the case, then that would mean that both pairs of my glasses have been broken. Then again... I do remember Vanilla saying that she sent the regular ones in for repair, but I doubt she's got them back yet...

I sighed to myself again, I really don't know what's been happening to me ever since Merhea and I somehow got ourselves into this world. Occasionally, I would think that the Golems had something to do with it. It then made me think... if they are the ones responsible for bringing both me and Merhea here in this world... does that mean that they exist in our home world as well? I shuddered at that, for if they do exist there, then they could've killed a lot of innocent people back at home. Of course, I've been wrong before, let's just hope I am... and usually, when it comes down to things like this... I end up being right...

"Hum..." I heaved out another sigh, not that anyone cared anyway. I lifted my left arm and heard the tinkling of crystals, I sighed again, my arm is still crystallized in its normal shape. Feeling a little worried, I used my right arm and ran my fingers through my legs. Good... they've turned back to normal... I then felt my back and chest, and as far as I can tell by touch, only my left shoulder and arm are crystallized. I'm pretty sure that part of my hair still has that crystalline color, but I couldn't tell, due to my hair feeling the same. I didn't have my shirt on, but I still have the bandages covering my left shoulder and chest; and thankfully, I still have my dark blue jeans on. With that in mind, I'm not too concerned about it as much anymore.

I then heard a small clicking sound coming from my left, obviously coming from a door. I couldn't tell who it was, due to my blurry vision. I mean, I can barely see anything in front of me at all. However, I wasn't in any mood to talk right now, so I kept my eyes closed and pretended to be asleep as I heard footsteps coming closer towards the bed I was laying on. The footsteps then ceased, but I guess it's because whoever the person was, they must've only wanted to check on me or something. Meh... Must be one of those doctors...

"I know you're awake," a familiar voice muttered.

"Huh?" I opened my eyes and looked to my left as I saw a black blur of sorts. Was that... "Shadow?"

"Correct," Shadow said in response.

"Oh..." I sighed a little, then closed my eyes again to prevent any headaches, "What brings you here?"

"I've been wanting to ask you some questions that I have."

"Okay," I shrugged, "Ask away."

"How is it that you are able to enter my mind?" Shadow said this more like a comment than a question.

"I have no idea, to be honest," I said, "But it's come in handy, you know?"

"At least I was able to complete my mission thanks to that," Shadow said in response, he still seemed a bit irritated, but I couldn't tell.

"Finding Rouge, I bet?"

"You are correct."

I did want to ask him why he was here, because something's telling me that Shadow had other reasons of him wanting to see me. Well, I know that he's well aware that I have the same name as that other Maria Robotnik that existed over fifty years ago in this world. Maybe it's because he's wondering that I'm her reincarnation or something? Hmm... Nah, can't be that. Maybe if I were a blonde-haired person, then I guess that would be it. However, I don't think I'm a reincarnation of anyone, for that's too cliche for anyone's (especially my own) comfort. Ah well, might as well ask him anyway.

"All right, black spikey boy," I said in a somewhat humorous manner, "What _really_ brings you here?"

"...I was asked to check on you," it took a moment for Shadow to respond.

"I know you're lying," I somewhat smirked a little.

"I have no other reason," Shadow said with what seemed to a somewhat frustrated tone on his voice.

"Fine," I playfully huffed, "be that way. You're no fun, you know?"

"Hmph..." I could tell by the tone that Shadow smirked a little.

"Uh, so, anyway..." I raised my right arm by the elbow and shook my hand a little, "Are my glasses still in one piece? Or did they break like my previous pair for all I care?"

"...They are right here," I felt Shadow gently shove an object into my hand as I wrapped my fingers around it. They felt a little different, but they were my spare pair of glasses, which is the one with thin black frames. I then grinned in satisfaction, "All right, thanks, Shadow."

"Don't mention it..." Shadow muttered as I put my glasses, which was a little difficult, due to the bandages over my right eye and for me having to put them on with one hand.

"Well, anyway," I sat up as I looked at Shadow with my vision restored, "Anything else you want to ask me?"

Shadow didn't say anything for a moment, probably because he was lost in thought. I would ask him again, but I decided to be patient for Shadow this time. What I mean is, is that he's suffered heavy losses in his past. Such as the death of someone he considered as a family member, which is the other Maria Robotnik in this case. Afterall, I understand what he feels when it comes down the death of a loved one. I mean, he lost Maria to GUN fifty years ago, and I lost my parents in a house fire two years ago. Speaking of which, I never found out what caused the house fire...

"...I have nothing else to say," Shadow said, though he did seem to have his attention over my bandaged right eye.

"Oh yeah, this thing..." I gently moved my finger over the right frame with my glasses, "It's nothing," I said as I waved my hand a little, which caused Shadow to raise a brow slightly, "A Puppet Golem I went up against earlier caught me off guard, don't worry about it."

"..."

"Anyway..." I then turned my body and got out of the bed with a little fatigue still in my legs, "I need to move around for a bit, I hate being stiff for a long period of time," I smiled at Shadow for a moment before grabbing a sleeveless shirt with a white collar, which was located on a nearby nightstand and put it on with a little ease. I then looked at Shadow again, "Is something wrong?"

"...It's nothing," Shadow said after about... five seconds, I think. Oh well, I might as well not bother him. Heh, not... "You've got a lot on your mind, don't you?" I grinned a little.

"You could say that," Shadow nodded slightly.

"Ah, well. Hope you can sort them out soon," I placed my right hand on Shadow's head and rubbed it for a moment, before withdrawing it with me saying, "It's better to think things out throughout the day than at night."

"True," I could tell that Shadow smiled a little ever so slightly, which made me smile so slightly that only I would know about.

...

Shadow was beginning to feel comfortable around this Maria Robotnik. For one, she's just as kind as the Maria Robotnik he once knew over fifty years ago. Well, except for those weird quirks of hers, but that's what makes her unique from the other Maria, which was fine. Second, she always seems determined to accomplish her goals, just like what the other Maria would do. And third, this Maria had accepted him for who he is, which was a little odd for him. He silently watched Maria stretch her limbs as he could hear a few bones pop a little bit, which sickened him a little.

"Don't worry about it," Maria said reassuringly, "This happens a lot when us humans get older. I may almost be seventeen, but I feel like an old woman already..." She then rolled her eyes as she had a playful look on her face.

Shadow couldn't help but smile a little bit as he had his arms crossed.

"Oh?" Maria then had her attention towards Shadow again, "_**Aha!**_" Maria's reaction caused Shadow to flinch a bit, "I see that smile of yours, so you _do_ have a sense of humor!" she then playfully touched Shadow's forehead (much to his surprise) with her right hand as she grinned, "I didn't think you would be so much fun to talk to," Maria admitted, "But hey, if you ever feel like you need to talk to me, I'll be happy to listen!" Maria then grabbed a nearby pair of white socks (which was where she found the sleeveless red shirt from earlier) and quickly put them on. She then grabbed her black shoes and put then on just as quickly, "Say, Shadow," Maria then looked at said person as she asked, "Who left me these clothes?"

"They were washed by the maids," Shadow said as he uncrossed his arms, still taking in the words that Maria had said earlier, "They dressed you in clean clothing while you were knocked out. They were the ones who left them here, not me."

"I see," Maria said as examined her sleeveless shirt, "They didn't freak out because of my crystalline limbs, did they?"

"I have no idea," Shadow said honestly, "I paid no attention to any of that."

"Ah, well," Maria shrugged, "As long as everything's fine, then I don't care," She stretched her limbs again, this time without the bones popping, "Where's Sonic and the others?"

"They're in the bailey," Shadow said before adding, "Your sister is there as well."

"All right then!" Maria said in a somewhat excited tone, "Let's go see them!"

...

I followed Shadow towards the bailey, in for which I had hoped to see Merhea again, because I was beginning to get worried about her. Well... at least I can get along with him a little more easily. Still, I wonder if I remind him of the Maria Robotnik from fifty years ago? Well, even if I did, I often wondered how Shadow feels about this. Um... I might as well not bother Shadow about such personal matters, because I don't want to reopen any old wounds of his...

"They're up ahead," Shadow said, snapping me out of my thoughts. To my surprise, he stopped for a moment, "Maria...?" he spoke my name more like a comment than a question.

"Huh?" I blinked, "Um... Yes?"

"That conversation we had earlier..." He then turned and looked up to me (due to me being taller than him) with a somewhat serious expression on his face, "Would you mind keeping it confidential?"

"Oh... Of course," I nodded and placed my regular right hand on Shadow's head, "I'll keep my word if you keep yours."

"Thank you... Maria..." Shadow muttered as I gently withdrew my hand.

"No problem," I smiled as Shadow continued to lead me to wherever Merhea and the others were.

...

Sonic said nothing as he silently leaned against the wall by his back. Even though he was happy to be reunited with his friends, he wasn't happy about what he, Dr. Eggman, and the others (except for the Robotnik sisters) had to discuss about the "Golem nest" that Eggman had discovered. Sonic wasn't even sure about on how Maria will react to what everyone agreed on, because of this, he knew that he had to postpone his promise to her. But since Maria has an understanding mind, he guessed that everything should work out. Sonic would've changed his mind as the last moment, but Eggman had already flown off somewhere. Thankfully, he didn't know about the Chaos Emerald that Merhea had found, so Sonic and friends still have it while Eggman has the other two. Even after all of that thinking, Sonic was still worried about the Robotnik sisters. Plus, after all of the things that happened during the times Sonic encountered those Golems, he didn't know what to think about them. Maria is partially a Golem herself, at least that's what he thinks for now.

"Sonic?"

"Hm?" Sonic was snapped back to reality as he turned his head, realizing that it was Amy, he turned his head back deep into thought, "What do you need?"

"You're not hurt, are you?" Amy had a worried look on her face as she wrapped the bite wound around Sonic's shoulder with some bandages, "I mean, what those Golems did to you was so... cruel..."

"I'm okay, thanks for you concern, though," Sonic sighed.

"You don't seem to be..." Amy as she sat down on the floor against the wall, Sonic did the same thing in response as he sighed.

"I'm fine, really," Sonic said as he waved his hand, "I'm just concerned about Maria, she's done a lot for me. I mean, she even saved my life a few times, even going so far as to carry me all the way here in this castle. And when I tried to tell her that I would manage on my own (in which I couldn't after a few steps), she would just glare at me, say a weird joke of some sort that's somewhat ridiculous yet somehow true at the same time, and continue what she was doing for me."

"Really?"

"Huh...?!" Both Sonic and Amy jumped a little as soon as they realized that Merhea was standing right next to them.

"M-Merhea!" Amy stuttered as she gently pointed at her, "When did you...?!"

"Ever since he mentioned Big Sis," Merhea said in response, she then cocked her head a little, "Big Sis did all of that for you?"

"Well, yeah..." Sonic placed his finger on his chin in a thinking manner, "I mean, she was stubborn into helping me..."

"If Big Sis did that, then that means..." Merhea trailed off as she looked at Sonic, which creeped him out for a moment until she suddenly beamed, "Ahahaha! Yay!"

"Eh?" both Sonic and Amy gave Merhea confused looks.

"Big Sis only does those things whenever someone she considers as a family member gets hurt," Merhea explained happily, "If she cares about you that much, then she probably considers you as a younger sibling!"

"Say what?" Sonic's eyes widened a little, "So basically... I'm like a little brother to her?"

"I guess that's the best way to put it..." Merhea said as she looked deep into thought for a six-year-old, "Well, if you try to ask her that kind of stuff, she'll deny it."

"Why's that?" Amy asked.

"I don't know," Merhea shrugged as she scratched her head, "I don't have the slightest idea how I should explain this..." she then quickly cheered up, "But there are times when I just know stuff!"

"So... if what I'm saying is correct..." Sonic somewhat quickly realized, "If I wasn't important to her, she wouldn't have even bothered helping me? Even when I was nailed in that chamber...?"

"If you weren't injured and could manage on your own, then no," Merhea said, still showing her intelligence for a six-year-old, "But since you couldn't do either of those... Well, that's just Big Sis. She's unpredictable, there's no telling on what kind of crazy things she'll do next for others."

_Crazy actions_... Sonic thought. After a second of many thoughts, he realized what Merhea was talking about. Even though Merhea herself doesn't understand it, Sonic does. Those same words he heard when Maria saved his life from a Pewter Golem for the first time...

_"Never again..." Maria then looked up at the Golem as she coughed up blood, "Will I let anyone die!"_

_Something in her past must have caused her to be like this, but why?_ Sonic thought.

"Sonic?" Amy gently shook him.

"Huh?" Sonic snapped out of trance, "I'm all right, just thinking..."

"Oh yeah, almost forgot..." Merhea pulled something out of the pocket on the side of her white hoodie with a yellow back and sleeves, revealing it to be the dark blue Chaos Emerald, "Sonic... Since you've become part of the family that Big Sis had wanted for so long, why don't you give this gem back to her?"

"Family, huh...?" Sonic muttered this more like a comment than a question as he gently took the Emerald and stared into its lustrous gleam, "Yeah, I'll do that..." With that said, Sonic slowly stood up from his spot and walked away down a long hallway.

"I can't believe I never noticed until now..." Sonic muttered to himself as he noticed Maria staring at the evening sunset from an outdoor balcony, "To Maria, we're just a family..." he then stared deeply into the Chaos Emerald, "...with no link..."

...

Gentle winds breezed through my brown and crystalline blue hair as I watched the sun going down into the horizon of the watery sea...

Shadow had already left with Rouge in order to report back to GUN about a few minutes ago, so I'm not too worried about those two. As for Knuckles being the stubborn Guardian he is, he ran off somewhere in search of the Master Emerald shards. With one shard already obtained, Knuckles should be getting some easier leads on where the other shards may be. However, I shall never forget the feeling that surged through my blood as that large Puppet Golem had stabbed my right eye with the first Master Emerald shard. I know that Vanilla and Cream are probably with the Soleanna Castle chefs in order to just do some cooking, not that I cared anyway. I don't know where Eggman went, but I hope that Sonic gave him some sort of beating, because he almost killed Sonic with those Pewter Golems that he had summoned. Unless Eggman had somehow lost control over those things, when I guessed everything's screwed up as it is.

Occasionally, I would have to think about my home world; my home, my great aunt and uncle, my school, my friends, and my... my...?

"Dang it...!" I whispered to myself as I somewhat slammed my regular right fist against the wall-like edges of the balcony. Subconsciously, my left crystalline arm was shaking a little. Blast it... What's wrong with me? Have I been staying in this world so long long in a few days that I'm actually...

"What's wrong?"

...losing memories of my home world...?

"Maria?"

"Huh...?!" I flinched at the sound of my name, I almost had the urge to attack the person who called my name, but luckily I resisted doing so. I turned my head only to see Sonic the Hedgehog holding the Chaos Emerald that Merhea had found, knowing who it was, I turned my head back, "What do you need?"

"You okay?" I then noticed Sonic standing up on of the stone benched and leaned on the balcony's edge next to me on my left. He then held up the Emerald as the blue jewel glimmered into the sun's setting rays.

"I'm fine," I sighed, "I'm just trying to remember..."

"Remember what?" Sonic looked at me with a confused look..

"Even though it's only been a few days," I placed my regular hand against my forehead, "I'm having a hard time remembering; my home, my great aunt and uncle, my school, my friends, and my... my...?"

"Your what?" Sonic urged me to go on.

"My... my... huh...?" both of my arms trembled, "Why...?" I then slammed my crystallized fist against the balcony's doorless entrance, which left a tiny crater and startled Sonic, "Why can't I remember...?!"

...

Sonic eyes widened at Maria's sudden change of behavior as soon as he saw Maria punch the balcony's entrance.

"I just want to go home..." Maria placed her regular hand over her eye to wipe away a few tears, "...before I forget everything... I don't want to forget my home... I want to go home..."

"Maria, I-..." Sonic began until...

"I didn't ask to be here in this world!" Maria yelled as tears began to flow out from her left eye, cutting Sonic off as he stood there with widened eyes, "I never wanted these cursed crystals over and within my body, either!"

"Maria, what are you-..."

"Why can't I ever have a normal life?!" Maria cut him off again as she continued to let out her frustration, "First my parents die, then I lose my home, and I get sent to a cursed place of an orphanage, only to be sent in this world of death!"

Sonic didn't know what to say after Maria said those words of rage, he also couldn't help but feel even more sorry for her. Even though Sonic has a promise that he intends to keep for her, he has to fulfill it after the destruction of the Golem's nest. He had trouble deciding what to do...

"I'm sorry, Sonic..." Sonic snapped out of his thoughts as he heard Maria mutter.

"Huh?" Sonic looked at her again as he saw her wiping the tears out of her face again, "What are you sorry about? You were just frustrated and had to let it out, right?"

"Yeah... Let's go with that... I mean..." Maria then looked at Sonic again, "I just don't know what to think of myself anymore. I mean, I even bit you! I'm just basically a monster now..."

"You're not a monster," Sonic somewhat strictly said.

"What do you mean?!" Maria gave Sonic a somewhat upset look of disbelief.

Sonic placed his hand on Maria's crystallized arm, "When we first met you, you used this very arm to save Vanilla, Cream, and Cheese. You used it again to save me from death numerous times, you even became so stubborn as to carry me all the way from where Angel Island crash-landed to here in Soleanna," Sonic gave Maria a smile, "Also, I think I should grateful that you bit me. If you hadn't, I would've suffered the same fate as that crow from earlier. If you ask me, those crystalline features you have are probably meant to save others, not kill."

"Why are you so confident about this...?" Maria muttered as she placed her regular hand over her crystallized arm, "How can these cursed crystals be used to save others when I've gone on rampages?"

"It's simple, you just need to control it," Sonic said.

"Yeah..." Maria sighed as she placed her regular head on her head, "The only problem is how."

"Maybe with this?" Sonic held up the blue Chaos Emerald in his hand as he spoke his suggestion.

Maria looked at the Chaos Emerald for a moment.

"You know, Sonic..." she muttered as she flexed her crystalline fingers, "I just realized that I had never held Chaos Emeralds with my crystalline hand..."

"Really? Give it a try," Sonic shrugged as he still held out the Emerald to her.

Wanting to test out Maria's very indirect theory, she used her regular human right hand first and touched the Emerald. As expected, nothing happened as she removed her hand shortly afterwards. Now for the real test... since her crystalline hand was around twice as larger as her regular right hand, Maria gently moved her index crystalline finger and gently tapped the Emerald, as soon as she did so however...

"_**Whaugh!**_" Maria instantly flinched and withdrew her crystallized finger as Sonic himself flinched in response.

"What happened?!" Sonic still held on to the Emerald as he had a concerned look on his face.

Maria wasn't able to say anything since she kept breathing deeply for a few moments.

"Are you okay?" Sonic asked.

"I'm fine," Maria continued to breathe deeply, "I don't know why, but I... I felt a really powerful surge... I thought I was going to go on another rampage or something!"

"Rampage?" Sonic looked at the Emerald again, "Could it be that...?"

"Sonic?" Maria cocked her head to one side.

"Give me a moment to think," with that said, Sonic continued to think. _Of all the times Maria went on a rampage, including the first time my friends and I first met her when she had that gunshot wound, Eggman was around. And whenever Eggman was around... he must've had those two Chaos Emeralds during that time, which means_... Sonic then hit realization, "That's got to be it!"

"Got to be what Sonic?" Maria asked.

"I'm getting the feeling that somehow you're reacting to these Chaos Emeralds, Maria!" Sonic said as he pointed at the dark blue Emerald in his hand, "This has _**got**_ to be the reason why you go on those rampages!"

"But if that's the case..." Maria thought out loud, then stated, "The only Emerald I've touched is the one you have right now, not counting the time you used those other two Emeralds to snap me out of a rampage during that time, so how can I be reacting to them from a distance?"

"We'll have to ask Tails about that," Sonic said, "He should know more about this kind of stuff, let's go on and see if he knows anything."

"...All right..." Maria nodded somewhat reluctantly.

With their conversation over, Sonic left the balcony with Maria following.

...

I don't get it...

Me? Reacting to the Chaos Emeralds? As far as I can remember from the games I've played, as well of the all the episodes of the _Sonic X_ anime that I've watched (I didn't watch them all, though), I only remember the Chaos Emeralds only reacting to each other. But then again, I do remember a few games that involve the Emeralds reacting to other things, mostly ancient artifacts. Then again, I do remember that Chaos can also 'eat' (most likely absorb) those Emeralds as well, but only to get stronger. Black Doom from _Shadow the Hedgehog_ also used those Emeralds to get stronger in order to become Devil Doom (that name just sounds really stupid for some weird reason...), but he didn't react to them from a distance, so I don't think that counts. The Biolizard from _Sonic Adventure 2: Battle_ also used Chaos Control, which can only be achieved with the power of a Chaos Emerald, but I don't recall it reacting to the Emeralds, either. Well... it _did_ react strangely when Knuckles used the Master Emerald to stop the Chaos Emeralds from using its power.

Um... I do remember that Sonic, Shadow, and Silver also used the Emeralds to gain a Super form for a short period of time, but I don't think that counts, either. I definitely know Blaze the Cat doesn't count, because she use the _Sol Emeralds_ from her dimension to become Burning Blaze, not the Chaos Emeralds. Though I do kind of find it weird that Blaze is the only one who doesn't have "Super" in her Super form name; then again, I don't think "Super Blaze" seems fitting, so I guess I should say that "Burning Blaze is more catchy. Plus, she's pyrokinetic, so I guess that's understandable.

I continued to follow Sonic as we searched for Tails. I swear, you can get lost in this insanely large castle. I often wonder how on Earth one can find their way around this place if they haven't lived there in their entire lifetime. Still, Sonic has an incredible memory of the locations he's been in, so I guess I just have to trust him on this for now. Oh well... I then shrugged to myself for whatever reason that's beyond me.

"Hey, Tails, I need to ask you something."

I snapped out of my thoughts as I stopped walking and watched Sonic talking to Tails about the theories he made when we were in the balcony from earlier. I didn't pay any attention to what Sonic or Tails were saying, so I just stood there and looked around the area we were in. I noticed that were inside a large room that had a really large table with many chairs around it, I also noticed that a lot of the castle's servants were preparing exquisite dishes of some sort. Hmm... I guess it must been a little less than an hour when I went on that rampage not too long ago, I'm surprised that many of the people in Soleanna didn't even notice. But then again, I think I should be glad, because that way it won't cause a panic.

I then suddenly remembered that Elise was treating us for dinner or something... Speaking of food, I still don't have any sense of hunger inside of my stomach. As far as I can remember, the only time I've eaten an actual meal was the breakfast I had in our world on the day Merhea and I got ourselves here in this world. I also had that breakfast with Vanilla and Cream, but I couldn't eat anything. The food just had no taste in my mouth at all for some strange reason... As far as I can tell, I can still sleep, feel, and speak, so I guess I'm still a normal person. In a way, that is...

"Hey, Maria, did you get all of that?"

"Huh?" I snapped out of my thoughts.

"Spaced out again, eh?" Sonic smirked at me while saying this.

"Ah... sorry," I said, a little embarrassed, "It's just that there's so much on my mind lately, you know?"

"Don't worry about it," Sonic said somewhat confidently, "We'll find out what's-..."

"Hey Sonic!" Sonic was cut off by Amy as she ran towards us, "Vanilla and Elise wanted me to tell you that dinner's ready, so we can eat now!"

"Great, I'm starving already!" Sonic said as all four of us starting going over to the... insanely large dinner table that was nearby... "I haven't eaten a thing since this morning!"

As Tails and Amy already picked out some seats for themselves, with Amy obviously reserving her seat for Sonic, I saw Tails sitting next to Merhea, who was already happily eating away something that looked like chicken and dumplings in a bowl. Heh heh... I keep forgetting to tell people that chicken and dumplings along with chicken pie (no, not chicken _pot_ pie, for that one has vegetables) were both one of my and Merhea's favorite foods. I was about to sit next to her, but Sonic stopped me for a moment.

"I need to talk to you for a moment," Sonic said as he dragged me a few steps away.

"Hm?" I gave Sonic a confused look, then he suddenly (yet gently) tugged my right arm down in order for him to be able to whisper into my right ear.

"You think you'll be able to eat this time?" Sonic whispered.

"Wha...?" I looked at Sonic with widened eyes, "W...What are you...?"

"You haven't eaten a single thing ever since we were at Cream's house," Sonic whispered somewhat worriedly, "Wait, scratch that. You haven't eaten anything at all of all the times I've seen you, not even the dinner that Vanilla made yesterday."

"What...?" I gave Sonic a look of disbelief. Oh no... he noticed... "Ah... I'll be fine, I haven't been tired at all have I?" I tried to change the subject, but Sonic was just too stubborn.

"I know, but you need to eat," Sonic said, "Your sister's already helping herself, so what's wrong with you?"

"Well..."

"Hey, Big Sis!" both Sonic and I looked towards Merhea, who had some soup on her face, "Come on, this stuff's great!"

Taking advantage of the situation, I instantly stepped away from Sonic and sat down next to Merhea. Thankfully, I saw Elise coming, so she took the seat next to me before Sonic could do so (which is a little surprising...). I noticed that Merhea had already made a bowl of the same dish she was eating (which was rare), which was just sitting there in front of me. I looked at it for a moment before I noticed that across the table, Sonic was sitting next to Tails, much to both my and Amy's dismay, for Vanilla was next to Amy by one seat with Cream on the other. I was hoping that Amy would keep him occupied so that way I could sneak out, but since Sonic's free to do what he wants, he still kept giving me a somewhat suspicious look, which actually sent a chill down my spine.

"Let us thank our chefs, and two of our guests, for preparing this fine meal," I looked to my right and saw the old man from earlier speak, and yep, he's the Duke (meaning Elise's father).

"Thank you," everyone except me and Sonic said, since Sonic was still giving me a suspicious look. I gulped lightly, because now Sonic was making me nervous. I glanced at my left and saw that there were a few other people besides Sonic and friends. I guess they must be either some royal guests or probably some of Elise's relatives, but I didn't dare to ask. Some of the other royal members did give me a few odd glances, but I bet it's because of my crystallized arm. I noticed that Elise was sitting left of me, while Merhea was on my right. Since Elise is next to me, I guess I won't have to worry about any of them giving me bad comments.

"Enjoy," the Duke said before he started eating off of his plate.

While everyone began to eat, I just sat there. I mean, the food looks appetizing, but I couldn't taste any food, nor do I feel hungry...

"Hey, Elise?" I whispered to her.

"Yes?" Elise whispered back.

"Are you sure I should be here?" I asked somewhat worriedly, "I mean, I have a crystallized arm, I shouldn't be allowed here."

"Normally, you wouldn't," Elise said, "But since you saved me, my father made an exception."

"Are you sure?" I whispered worriedly.

"Of course," Elise smiled and nodded a little, "Now, please, enjoy yourself."

I looked at my plate again, the chicken and dumplings were still there, with signs showing that it was fresh from the pot. I then had my eyes at Sonic, even though he was eating some cheese and crackers (and possibly a bit of bread), he still glanced at me every once in a while, with no intention of letting me out of his sight. I still had no sense of hunger within my stomach, but I have to find a way to wool Sonic away from his suspicion. I looked at the silverware... Crud... it has the usual set that had three forks, three spoons, and two knives. Uh... which one's the soup spoon? Crud... Well, might as well just pick one... I quickly picked up a small spoon that had an oval shape, I glanced at Sonic and saw that he still gave me a few suspicious glances. Not wanting to have any more suspicious glances, I took a bite out of one of the small dumplings that were there.

As expected, I couldn't sense the taste in the food... but I swallowed it anyway...

I still didn't feel hungry at all, and my body didn't seem to want any more food in its stomach, but I kept eating the contents in the bowl anyways. Suddenly, I would get the feeling of throwing up, but somewhat deep breaths and a few sips of water prevented that. In what seemed to be an eternity, in which was actually a few minutes, I was able to force myself to eat the chicken and dumplings. I looked at Sonic again and saw that he seemed to have doubts on his suspicions, I mentally sighed in relief. Hopefully he won't bother me on this matter, but that depends on how long I can keep up this act. I was about to ask a nearby chef for some bread, but instead I got the urge to throw up again.

"Um... Elise?" I gently tapped her shoulder.

"Yes?" She looked at me, expecting an answer.

"Will you tell me where the restroom is?" I swallowed in order to resist my vomiting urge. Oh man... I don't much longer I can take this...

"It's down that hall on the second left," Elise said as she pointed to the direction with her finger, "You can't miss it."

"Thank you...!" I bowed my head as I stood up and left the table. I noticed Sonic giving me a suspicious look again, but I didn't care, I just need to head over to the restroom, that's all... Yeah, I guess I could say that... I just hope that Sonic will buy it...

...

Sonic remained suspicious of Maria's behavior throughout the entire time she ate, even though she ate the food in her bowl, she never demanded for seconds. Well, Sonic knows that there are those who don't eat much, but the way Maria acted had given herself away. He knew that something was wrong with her, she kept showing the expression of having the urge to throw up. Sonic knows this because he had to help Vanilla take care of Cream one time when she was sick; because of this, he was able to learn a few signs of sickness.

_Could it just be that Maria's just a little sick?_ Sonic thought. _Might as well check on her_...

Sonic quickly excused himself and left the dining room in the direction that Maria headed to, saying that he only wanted to head outside in order to run for a bit. He followed Maria from a distance and saw her enter a room, in which he quickly found out that it was a restroom. It didn't specially say whether it was boy's or a girl's restroom, so Sonic figure that it was for both boys and girls. He gently tapped the door, which had no knob since it was one of those doors you push to open, but he received no answer.

_If she's feeling sick_... Sonic thought as he remembered the sickened expression on her face. _Then she's probably going to_...

"_**AHUH!**_"

_Huh?!_ Sonic let out a light gasp as he opened the door and saw about seven bathroom stalls with no one but one person in sight...

"Maria...?" Sonic approached the open stall where he could see her legs as he heard her breathing deeply.

Maria let out deep breaths as she made a few vomiting sounds, after coughing a few times, she turned to him, "S... Sonic...?"

"Are you okay?" he placed his hand on her back to show his support.

"No..." Maria shook her head, "You found out, did you?"

"Found out what?" Sonic raised a brow.

"...I can't taste food anymore..." Maria coughed as she moved out of the stall as the toilet flushed automatically, she then coughed again, "I tried to hold it until after the dinner, but..."

"You couldn't, could you?" Sonic said as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah..." both Maria and Sonic left the restroom and continued their conversation in the hallway.

"How long has this been happening?" Sonic asked.

"Ever since you stopped my rampage at Cream's house," she replied before coughing a few times, "I thought it only happened whenever I'm crystallized, but... Even when I'm my regular self, I just can't feel hunger."

"Why didn't you tell us any of this?!" Sonic asked with a shocked expression on his face.

"I thought it would only be temporary, but..." Maria sighed, "I guess I was wrong..."

"...All the more reason to find a way to turn you back to normal," Sonic nodded.

"I know you're concerned, but..." Maria sighed, "I think you need to concentrate on destroying that Golem nest first."

"You knew?" Sonic gave her a surprised look.

"My hearing went out last when I passed out," Maria explained, "I heard almost the whole thing. You need to destroy that nest first, don't worry about my sister and me."

"But I..." Sonic began until...

"I know you promised me that you will use the Emeralds to return us home, but it can wait. I'll still stick with what I said earlier, I'm still going to help you find the Chaos Emeralds. But..." Maria then huffed for a moment, "The problem is that we haven't found any Emeralds besides the one we have now, along with the two Eggman's got."

"Good point..." Sonic sighed, a sound of footsteps then caught his attention. Looking to his right, he saw the Duke and Elise walking towards them. He was about to tell Maria about their presence, but...

"Urk...!" Maria gripped her chest in pain as she bit her lower lip...

"What's wrong?" Sonic gave her a look of concern.

"The fourth Emerald..." Maria looked at Sonic, "I...it's..."

...

**(End of the Eleventh Crystal)**

...

**Authoress' Notes:** Sorry if this was long, but like the previous Crystals, it's hard to find a place for a suitable ending.

**References:** When Maria mentioned the Super forms that some of the characters have, she made a somewhat obvious reference about some of the final bosses that involve Chaos Emeralds. I never really understood how in the world the Biolizard could use Chaos Control even though it didn't have any Chaos Emeralds in its possession. Then again, the Emeralds were nearby, but does that even count? I never understood that... But seriously, "Devil Doom" just sounds silly, you agree?

The reason why Maria calls the Soleanna Castle "insanely large" or "a place you can easily get lost" was because of an actual experience I had. I can't remember where, but when I younger, my family and I went to an amusement park that had a replica of a large Medieval castle. It was actually a place where you could ride a roller coaster (which was really fun to ride), so the pathway's prepared for you to navigate in. From the outside (and sometimes the inside, but not really), it looks like an insanely large castle that you could easily get lost in. I thought that this would make yet another unique trait in Maria' already quirky personality, so I added this in.

When Maria somewhat jokingly mentioned about her being "a reincarnation of Maria Robotnik", she indirectly made fun out of this statement. Since she shares the same name, she jokingly states herself as that, but doesn't take it literally. There are other fanfics in the net that I've read in numerous sites (including ) that have "reincarnation of Maria Robotnik", but most of them didn't make much sense. So Maria indirectly poked fun out of that.

Okay... uh... Happy Thanksgiving!


	12. Fighting for the Fourth, Part 1

My thanks for shadowdragon91, Namless Daydreamer (is there an "N" missing?), Thrash the Hedgehog (I was wondering where you were), Epic-Awesome (odd name, but I don't care), and Llirwerdnavidad (a Christmas-themed username?) for leaving reviews.

As of this Crystal, topdog12 and Llirbwerdnavidad has added both me and RotCG into their Favorite Story/Author list, and Epic-Awesome has put RotCG into his Favorite Stories list.

As interesting as it is in Llirbwerdnavidad's user name, "Navidad" is Spanish for Christmas (you can see it in his profile, and a lot of humorous yet true _copy and pastes_ at that). In this case, Merry Christmas and Happy 2009. This year went by pretty fast, hopefully next year will be even better! (Ever imagined getting a waffle iron for Christmas?)

Just so you know, RotCG is updated at _least_ once a month. This to give me time for studies and to let other people leave some reviews here.

**Edit:** I accidently lost the document of this Crystal while correcting some errors, so I had to replace it. Because of this you might find a few differences, but that's due to corrected typo errors. And yes, I do check for typos even before I post the Crystal, sometimes they slip. Sorry about that.

...

**The Twelfth Crystal: Fighting for the Fourth, Part 1**

...

I continued to tightly grip my chest as I let out a few signs of me having have difficulty to breathe. I don't know what's going on, but I've always felt this strange presence whenever an Emerald's nearby, but...

"Maria?" Sonic looked at me in concern, "What do you mean by the fourth Emerald?" He then looked at Elise and the Duke, who were still walking towards them, "Are you saying one of them has it?"

"No..." I shook my head a little in response, "But it's nearby..."

"Why, hello there, Sonic, Maria!" Both Sonic and I turned and saw Elise and the Duke. Apparently, the Duke was the one who greeted us.

"Um... Yes... Hello to you, too..." I breathed as I gave out a somewhat unconvincingly grin.

"Are you all right?" Elise gave me a look of concern, as did her father and Sonic.

"She's right..." the Duke then gently placed his hand on my forehead, "I think you should be in bed, for your head feels a little too warm."

"Uh..." I tried to think of an excuse, "I'm sorry, this is normal for me. I get shivers and stuff like that whenever I'm in a unfamiliar place..."

"Well, if you say so..." the Duke still gave a concerned look in his eyes, as did Elise, but said, "Very well, carry on..." With that said, both Elise and her father continued to walk past both Sonic and me.

Neither of us said anything for about a minute (possibly much to Sonic's annoyance), for I continued to breathe in somewhat deeply every few seconds.

"Any idea where the Emerald might be?" Sonic asked after what seemed to be an eternity.

"Not really..." I shuddered as shivers went down my spine, for I kept feeling the pain leaving and coming back within me, "I'm beginning to think that it's moving."

"So..." Sonic began, "All we have to do is find the person that has the Emerald, ask him to give it to us, and we'll be a step closer into destroying that Golem nest and getting you and your sister home! That way we could kill three birds with one stone!"

"I thought it was two birds..." I trailed off.

"Whatever, you get what I mean," Sonic then looked at random directions, "Which direction are you feeling it most?"

"Over to where Elise and the Duke are going," I said as I pointed to the direction, "It's somewhere outside, and it seems to be moving pretty fast."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Sonic grabbed my regular right arm and said while dragging me, "Let's go get the Emerald already!" I gotta admit that it's actually pretty funny when Sonic said that...

...

"Are you sure it's this way, Maria?"

"To be honest, I have no idea."

For the past fifteen minutes, both Sonic and Maria quickly wandered the courtyards of the Soleanna Castle. Even though there many shrubs that were professionally crafted into many mythical-like animals, they were the least of their interests. For now, their only concern is finding the fourth Emerald. Besides the well-crafted shrubs, stepping stones were also present, along with a fountain in the middle of the courtyard. Surrounding the courtyard were the very walls of the Soleanna Castle

"Can you still feel it?" Sonic asked as he looked up at her.

"Yeah, but..." Maria looked around, "I just can't tell which way..." then she snapped unexpectedly, which startled Sonic, "Dang it! Where's that DANG fourth Chaos Emerald?!"

"...You _**had**_ to say that, didn't you?" Sonic's eyebrow twitched.

"Yep, I had to," Maria smirked, "For I feel a whole lot better now," she then pointed at the brick wall in front of them, "Anyways... it's behind that wall inside this part of the Castle in front of us, but... How do we get in?"

"I guess all we can do for now is just look for a way in," Sonic then ran towards the closest entrance to the wall that Maria pointed at, "Heeeey!" Sonic raised a brow as his mouth curled to a smile, "I think we found our way in!"

"...You know," Maria then had her eyes half closed while looking a little uninterested as she crossed her arms, "Whenever you say something like that, I feel like we're actually trying to _steal_ the Emerald or something..."

"Uh..." Sonic sweatdropped as part of his body and right ear had bended a little in response, then recovered and walked inside the entrance, "Right... C'mon... Time's a wasting..."

"Time drinks alcohol?" She gave Sonic a confused look as she followed him.

"Ah..." Sonic took a deep breath in order to keep himself from laughing for no absolute reason, "No, what I'm saying is that we have to find the Emerald before it gets out of our reach. Speaking of which..." he looked up at her, "Can you still feel the Emerald's presence?"

"Yeah, I can still feel it," Maria said in an irritated tone as she shivered, "It's giving me the chills... Now stop asking me."

"I see," Sonic then quickly dropped the subject in hopes of not getting Maria too irritated, because if she does become too annoyed or something... Sonic was positive that she would just go nuts and do the CBRD on anything in order to take out her anger on it or something. If that was the case, he hoped that Maria would do the CBRD on the Golems, but he doesn't know if that would actually _work_ on those _things_...

_Well_... Sonic thought. _At least she doesn't curse_... _But if I laugh, I'll only encourage her to make more of those strange jokes_...

...

Gah...

My chest (most likely my heart) continued to throb painfully, so painfully that it's becoming a lot harder for me to breathe. I don't know what's causing me to react to the Emeralds like this, but I hope that Sonic will find the reason and stop this from happening again... Because I'm beginning to feel like as if I'm having a heart attack or something...

I then wondered... why is a Chaos Emerald here anyway? Well... I remember in _Sonic Next_ that Elise had the dark blue Emerald in the game that was given to her by Silver the Hedgehog ten years ago... Now that I think about it, I wonder if Elise lost the dark blue Emerald at all in the games before that? Because in all of the previous games, that very same Emerald was in the possession of either Sonic and friends, Eggman, or GUN (which stands for **G**uardian **U**nits of **N**ation, which, ironically, they tend to fail at guarding things lately...). If that's the case, then how was Elise able to have possession of the Emerald during that time? Oh, wait... I forgot... those events in the game _Sonic Next_ never happened... which means that Silver had never actually given her the Emerald at all. Well, as complicated as it is, it _does_ make sense if you stop to think about it.

Now that I mention it... the Emerald's color... which Emerald does the Castle of Soleanna have in possession? Because in _Sonic Next_, Elise had the dark blue one, but that Emerald is in our possession. Let's see... I remember that Eggman has the yellow and white-gray Emeralds, and we have the dark blue Emerald... Which leaves that the Emerald that I'm feeling now could be either the red, purple, green, or cyan (as in light blue). Well, not that it really matters anyway, because as long as the Emerald will enable us to destroy both the Golem's nest and getting me and Merhea back home. And speaking of things back home, when I had that little breakdown back at that balcony... what was I trying to remember again? I know it involved something that would've taken place after school on the day that Merhea and I had gotten ourselves here, but... Dang it! I still can't remember...! Well... Maybe I'll ask Merhea once we get back to Vanilla's house in Station Square, then again, I could ask her once after Sonic and I find the Emerald that's here.

Speaking of Sonic... I noticed that every once in a while, he would give me a somewhat worried glance. I don't know exactly what's making him worry, but I guess he's just concerned that I might hurt myself if I ever go on one of those rampages again. Well, I really don't care if I get hurt, all I want is to get Merhea home at least. Because I remember in some movies, games, stories (or whatever media), whenever two (or possibly more) people get themselves to another world, in the end only one can return home while the other must stay forever. If that happens, I want Merhea to be the one to go home if I can't, because she still has many years ahead of her... I looked at Sonic again, I noticed that he still had bandages over himself. The ones wrapped around his hands were the wounds he received when we were (somewhat) imprisoned in that Puppet Golem's chamber, and the one around the upper part of his left arm covering the area where my crazed self had bitten him.

"By the way, Maria," I looked at Sonic, who asked, "How's your eye doing?"

"Hmm..." I didn't say anything as took off my glasses and removed the gauze covering my right eye before throwing it out at a conveniently placed trash can.

"Whoa..." Sonic looked amazed as he pointed at me, "Your eye's healed! Well, sort of..."

"Really?" I scratched my right eye with my index finger as I looked at a mirror that was also conveniently placed on a wall nearby. I noticed that the eyelid was "glued" shut by a small, but tight scab as the area was still a crystalline blue, "Well... I still can't see, but it doesn't hurt anymore, so I'll just leave the bandage off."

"You sure?" Sonic cocked his head slightly.

"Positive," I gave him a thumbs up as I put my glasses back on.

"Are you guys lost again?"

Both Sonic and I looked at the area behind us and Elise and the Duke... again... Uh oh...

"Uh, yeah..." Apparently, Sonic had quickly thought up of something, "We took a wrong turn and got lost..."

I have to admit that Sonic is one _heck_ of a bad liar... for _me_, that is.

"I see," Elise nodded, much to my "shock" (well, not really).

"Any idea where the bailey is?" Sonic asked.

"It's down that hallway over there," Elise said as she gently pointed at the pathway they just took, "By the way, your little sister's worried, Maria. I think you should go see her."

"It's okay," I said as I raised my left crystallized hand, "I'll go see her in a little bit. Now if you don't mind me asking..." now it was my turn to ask this, "What are you guys up to now?"

"Father is heading over to his lab in order to do some experiments," Elise explained, "I'm only coming with him in order to see how his experiments are doing."

"What are these experiments about?" I asked as both Sonic and started following Elise and the Duke to wherever they're going.

"I'm trying to conduct some experiments about trying to use the Chaos Emerald's power for the benefit of Soleanna," the Duke said, "Unfortunately, it hasn't been going so well..."

"Well, I guess all you can do is just keep trying," I shrugged, "But I also think that it's best not to tamper with the Emerald too much."

"I'll keep that in mind," the Duke nodded as he smiled.

While the Duke was babbling on about the so-called achievements he was able to perform (which I didn't really pay much attention to), the four of us eventually reached... Oh no... the very same laboratory that the Duke used to do those experiments on Solaris in _Sonic Next_...And inside of the large tube that was located in the middle...

A green Chaos Emerald...

"Hey!" Sonic exclaimed before he could stop himself, "There's the Chaos Emerald!"

"You want the Emerald?" the Duke asked curiously, "For if you do, I need it for my experiments."

"Yes," Sonic nodded, "We need the Chaos Emerald in order to... accomplish a few tasks. You see, we need to get it done as quickly as possible."

"I see..." the Duke seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, "Very well, just let me do one more experiment and I'll let you have it. It's the least I can do since you two saved my daughter."

"I knew you would be this kind, Father," Elise smiled.

After the Duke said a few things that I didn't really pay much attention like before, Elise led both Sonic and up to the safety area that was located in the area with windows allowing us to see the tube contained the green Chaos Emerald. While the Duke was doing something on the controls that were placed in front of that glass tube, I noticed that Elise and Sonic were talking to each other about something.

"You know..." Elise had a thinking pose as she looked at Sonic, "Now that I look at you, I feel like that I've met you before...?"

"Hmm..." I think Sonic did his very best to remember, though I can tell he mostly failed, "You do look familiar... but I don't think we've met..."

"Maybe you saw someone who looked a lot like her?" I shrugged. Well, actually, I was lying on that one as well. Because in _Sonic Next_, those two actually _did_ meet; but during the ending of the game, none of the events ever happened. However... they do seem to recall each other, but ever so slightly...

"Well..." Sonic recalled, "I've been here a few months before, but only once, just to see that celebration that was going on. I think I may have seen you during that time..." Sonic then nodded, "Yeah, that may have been it."

"You're probably right," Elise nodded, "Sorry, I tend to think such silly things."

"It's alright," Sonic waved his hand.

While Sonic and Elise were somewhat laughing over their so called "memory issues", I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them. In _Sonic Next_, Elise's life was changed thanks to Sonic. But since all those events were erased, does that mean that Elise has never experienced what it was like to see exotic places? Well, since she doesn't that Iblis thing inside of her, I guess she's been able to. That way, in case she ever does cry, at least we don't have to worry about some weird flame coming to _destroy us all_... _**AUGH!**_ I could say "destroy us all" all day, but all that would do is just annoy the junk out of the people around us (and possibly the "audience"...). I then turned my attention to the Duke as he was still trying to activate something, which made my heart throb again.

"You know..." Elise had a thinking pose again as she said, "I think you may have heard, but there have been strange happenings going on recently..."

"Strange happenings?" both Sonic and I asked before looking at each other for a moment.

"Yes," Elise nodded, "For the past three days, some of the people here in Soleanna are disappearing in thin air."

"Disappearing?" both Sonic and I were surprised by this, how can people disappear in thin air? It's impossible! ...Then again, since I'm a video game universe, I guess it can be possible with Chaos Control or something...

"How so?" Sonic asked.

"We don't know," Elise shrugged, "But strangely, it's all been taken place in isolated areas, not in the general public..."

"Were any clues found?" I asked.

"Not that I know of, though weirdly..." Elise went deep into thought again, "Of all the areas that the missing people have disappeared in, only their clothes have been found."

"Okay, that's sick..." one of Sonic's ears bended as part of his body had bent like before.

"What are you talking about Sonic?" I gave him a playfully angry look, "All you wear are gloves and shoes."

"I meant human-wise," Sonic pointed out, "I'm not human, remember?"

"Good point," I quickly dropped that small subject, "From what I know based on what you've said, Elise, I'd say that there's probably a serial killer out on the loose."

"Serial killer...?" Sonic shivered at the thought.

"We're beginning to think that too," Elise said worriedly, "Because from all the clothes that were found, there were signs of large bullet holes about the size of a baseball."

"Bullet holes...?" Sonic and I looked at each other again.

"Though... oddly..." Elise then said, "This is the fourth day, and there haven't been any disappearances at all today..."

"No disappearances at all today...?" Sonic muttered.

While Sonic was thinking about what could've happened to the missing people, I saw the Duke conducting his experiment. Unfortunately, the Emerald began to radiate its energy...

"Uhgh...?!" my breath was cut off due to my heart throbbing too hardly, but... What I'm feeling isn't the Emerald...

"Maria?" Sonic looked concerned, once again, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said as I gripped my chest, "But... Huh...?!" I then noticed a familiar person, who I've despised after that crazy event, "...You again?"

...

"Any idea when Big Sis and Sonic will be back?"

It's been an hour since the dinner in side the Castle of Soleanna ended, and neither Maria nor Sonic had returned from whatever they were doing. Since Merhea was too focused on eating instead of listening to whatever Maria was saying, she became a little worried for her older sister. Since Merhea doesn't know where Maria may be, she would always sit on the floor against the wall and wait for her sister to come by, which usually works.

Vanilla was sitting near Merhea on a chair that was also against the wall with Cream and Cheese on her lap, while Amy was continuously pacing around with her hammer in hand, possibly to hit Sonic's head if she ever sees him again. As for Tails, he had already left with Merhea's Chaos Emerald in order to bring the nearly forgotten Tornado biplane to the Castle's entrance.

"They probably went out on walk around he Castle somewhere," Vanilla shrugged, "Afterall, Sonic is the only one who can calm her down from her Golem rampages."

"I hope you're right..." Merhea muttered worriedly, she then felt her legs becoming a little stiff, "I might as well walk a bit too..." she then stood up, "My knees hurt from being still."

"All right," Vanilla said while rubbing Cream's head, "But don't go too far."

"I won't," Merhea nodded.

Even though Merhea would usually wait for her sister, it wouldn't hurt to do some minor exploring. She usually gets into trouble whenever she does this, but there was always someone (mostly Maria) to help her. Merhea looked forward again, and saw that there was a long straight hallway going in one direction. She figured she could walk that hallway to calm her nerves... Feeling a little excited for adventure (she mentally slapped herself for thinking that), Merhea quickly walked in the long hallway.

"Fa la la la... Ah, forget it..." Merhea snickered to herself as she playfully tried to think up of a silly song that could her sister crazy. Unfortunately, she usually fails at that. Not that she cared, anyway.

A few minutes of later after trying to think up random things, Merhea leaned against the wall in order to rest for a bit, until the wall suddenly gave way...

"WHA...?!" Merhea yelped as she fell on her side, "Owwie..." she then looked in front of her and saw... "_**KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!**_"

"Merhea?!" it wasn't long until Vanilla and Amy rushed to the scene, "Merhea!" Vanilla came to her aid, "What's...?" she trailed off at what Merhea saw...

A human body armed with a bow and arrow... with a massive bullet wound...

...

"You again?"

The person that Maria, Elise, and Sonic saw turned out be Elise's "Nanny Archer", but then Maria noticed something.

"No..." she somewhat laughed in a manner while trying to keep calm with sweat coming out of her forehead, "You're not her... Who are you?"

"Maria?" neither Sonic nor Elise knew what she talking about.

"I'm... Elise's guardian," the so-called Nanny Archer said, "The so called 'Nanny Archer' as you call it."

"No you're not!" Maria said as she pointed at her with her crystalline fingers (and all five at that), "The 'Nanny Archer' has a birthmark on her left eyebrow!"

_Whoa_... Sonic became amazed at that. _I didn't think she would pay that much attention to detail_...

The woman looked surprised, then gave out a cold, malicious grin, "Oh? Is that so? How forgetful of me..." Raising an arm, she ran her fingers across her left eyebrow, the birthmark then appeared like magic... "Is that better?"

"What?!" both Sonic and Elise couldn't believe their own eyes, "W... What's... going on?"

"Judging from your expression..." Maria gave out a forced grin, "She's no longer part of this world, am I right?"

"Heh heh. You are correct," the fake archer said, "She's been dead for the past three days now."

"So _you're_ the one who been killing the people in Soleanna!" Sonic snapped, for he couldn't believe that this... this _thing_ could kill so much...

"You got it," the Nanny Archer grinned maliciously.

"In other words..." Maria glared at the impostor, "You're a Golem..."

"Ah yes..." she grinned, "Don't think that I've forgotten about you and that **blue raaaaaaaaattttttttt!**"

"Wait!" Sonic couldn't contain his shock, "You're that... Puppet Golem we went up against back on Angel Island!"

"**You got iiiiiiiiiittttttttttt!**" the Puppet Golem sang as it revealed its infamous spider-like form from earlier, "**I've always wanted to taste...**" it licked its rock-like lips as it spoke, "**The **_**blood**_** of a Human Crystal Golem when **_**deeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaad**_**!**"

"What's going on?" everyone turned and saw the Duke looking at the Golem with a frightened look on his face, "W... What is this...?!"

"Sonic!" Maria yelled out, "Get Elise and the Duke to safety!"

"Got it!" Sonic was about to grab both Elise and the Duke until...

"**Oh no, you dooooooooooonnnnnnnnnn't!**" the Puppet Golem sang as it was about to stretch its arm towards Sonic and the Royal Family members...

"Oh no, you don't, _yourself!_" Maria yelled out as she rammed against the Puppet Golem with her crystallized arm, "_**Sonic!**_" she then looked incredibly ticked again, "Get your furry hide and those two outta here! _**NOW!**_"

"Okay! Okay! I got it! I got it!" Sonic didn't say anything else as he grabbed both Elise and the Duke, "Come on!" and ran off at normal human speed. _Man_... Sonic thought. _If it was just one person, this would've been easy_...

...

Now that's out of the way...

I turned my attention back at the Puppet Golem, which was still recovering from the ramming I did on it. I can't believe that _thing_ had survived... I thought it got destroyed when Angel Island came crashing down... didn't the island destroy it...?

"**You're probably wondering how I survivvvvvvvveeeeeeed...**" the Puppet Golem sneered with its disturbing child-like voice.

"Humor me," I forcefully grinned back at it as my crystalline fingers twitched.

"**You see...**" the Golem sneered again, "**I can't be destroyed by anything as weak as thaaaaatttttt...**" it then looked like it went deep into thought, "**Let's just saaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy... I can't be destroyed that easillllllllllyyyyyyyyyyy...**"

"I see," I placed my regular human hand over my right eye, "I still haven't forgiven you for stabbing me earlier today," I then pointed my crystalline fingers at it as it glistened with the light that the green Chaos Emerald was radiating, "I guess I'll just keep killing you until you stay dead."

"**Good luck with that theeeeeeeeeeennnnnnn...**"

"Bring it..." I grinned at it in my own (which is a bit more comical than serious) malicious way. The both of us then charged at each other...

Even so...

I hope Merhea and the others are okay...

...

"Wait, Sonic! What about Maria?"

"I wouldn't worry about her, Elise. She can handle that thing on her own for now."

It took Sonic about ten minutes in order for him to get both Elise and the Duke to the other side of the castle, which was where Merhea and the others were located.

"Hey, guys!" Sonic released his grip on Elise and the Duke as he ran over to his friends, "What's going on...?" it was then he noticed a large blue sheet covering what seemed to be a dead body, "What the?! What is that?!"

"It's the body of a female archer," Vanilla explained as Amy kept covering Cream and Cheese's eyes, "From the looks of it, she's been dead for at least a few days..."

"Nanny..." Elise muttered with sadness in her voice.

"Poor woman," the Duke said full of grief, "She was one of the best guards in this castle. May she rest in peace."

"Guys!" everyone turned and saw Tails running towards them with Merhea's Chaos Emerald in hand, "I managed to get the Tornado hear the Castle's entrance, but that's beside the point..." he then took a somewhat deep breath and said, "I've been hearing a lot of racket going on at the other side of the castle, and I saw blood there too..."

"Blood...?!" Sonic instantly reacted, "Then that means that Maria's needs help! She's still fighting against that Puppet Golem! The Chaos Emerald is still there too!"

"I'll help!" Tails volunteered, "I need to return the favor for her since she helped save the Tornado earlier today."

"Count me in!" Amy said as she took out her trademark Piko Piko Hammer.

"All right!" Sonic nodded, "Vanilla, you look after everyone here and find someone to do something with that body! We'll be back in a little while!" he then turned, "Tails! Amy! Let's go!"

"Right!"

A Vanilla watched Sonic and the others leave, she silently prayed, "Be careful, you guys..."

...

Frustration welled up inside of Knuckles' head as he climbed up the castle walls. After what seemed to be hours of searching, he was unable to find any pieces of the Master Emerald at all, and the only shard Knuckles has in possession is the shard that the large Puppet Golem used to stab Maria's eye with. Of all the times Knuckles had to search for the shards, he's never this much of a hassle in attempts of finding them.

"Makes me wonder if Bat Girl has any luck..." Knuckles grumbled to himself. Even thought he actually hated Rouge for trying to steal the Master Emerald, she _did_ (somewhat) help him in finding some of the shards during the time involving Shadow and the Space Colony ARK for the first time. Snapping out of his thoughts, Knuckles managed to climb up to the top on one of the Soleanna Castle turrets. Knuckles then realized...

"What if..." his eyes widened at the thought as he looked up into the evening sky, "Those _things_ have them...?" It was then Knuckles felt a _very slight rumble_ that sent chills down into his spine... "No..." Knuckles then looked down as he stared at one of the castle's walls... and saw what seemed to be blood... "Could one of them already be here...?"

He then sense a familiar presence, the very same presence that radiates from the Master Emerald...

"Oh man..." Knuckles then jumped down as he thought, "I've got to find the Master Emerald shards before those _things_ do..."

...

Ugh...

I've been fighting this stupid Puppet Golem for the past twenty minutes at my estimate, I quickly scanned the area we were fighting in and saw numerous spots covered with my blood. Talk about surprising, I'm amazed that I'm still alive even after losing all that blood... Man... I just wish that I could just go on another rampage, that way I could easily tear this _monster_ apart like I would to a twig! ...Okay, maybe that's not the best way to put it, but you should get what I mean. Because whenever I go on a rampage, I'm easily able to destroy these things. But then again... I lose control of myself whenever that happens, so I guess that's not a good thing...

"**You're not like the previiiiiiiiiiiiiooooooooooous Human Crystal Golems...**" the Golem sneered, "**All the previous ones I'vvvvvvvveeeeeeee come across are usually dead after the firrrrrrrrrrrssssssssssst few hiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttts...**"

"Well..." I grinned as I panted in hopes of catching my breath, "I guess... I die hard..."

"**Well said...**" the Golem then rammed me against the wall again before I had a chance to move, knocking my glasses off of my face, "**Soooooooooo... I guess all I'll do now iiiiiiiiissssssssss-...EEEEYYYYYYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!**"

"Hey, Maria! You okay?!"

"S... Sonic...?" it was then I noticed that both Sonic, Tails, and Amy had rammed the Puppet Golem off of me. However, I didn't pay much attention due to me collapsing in exhaustion as Sonic rushed to my aid.

"Don't worry, help has arrived," Sonic gave me a wink as I smirked back.

I don't think I have much longer now, since I've already lost so much blood... including the time I went up against the Puppet Golem back on Angel Island, I might die for real this time... Oh man... this isn't good... all of this blood loss is numbing my senses... My body feels like it's burning so much that I could black out, much less die, at any moment... Oh no... I'm beginning to black out... No...! Don't fall asleep! If I fall asleep...I'll be dead...

I then couldn't remember anything else as my body went limp...

...

"Maria?!"

Sonic kept shaking Maria's unconscious body in hopes of waking her up, but was unsuccessful...

"Oh no..." Sonic became a little frantic, he then became angry at the Puppet Golem, "All right, guys! We're taking this thing DOWN!"

"You just read my mind, my dear Sonic!" Amy said as she rammed the Puppet Golem with her red and yellow hammer.

"**Hee hee hee hee hee hee heeeeeeeeeee!!**" the Golem sang as it laughed, "**Oh? I killed her alreaddddddddddddyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?? Oh, what fun she waaaaaasssssssss!! She was so fun to kiiiiiiiiiillllllllllllll!!**"

"And you're a sick freak at that!!"

The Puppet Golem didn't have any time to react as a familiar red figure punched it against a wall.

"Knuckles!" Tails exclaimed.

"I've been hearing the sound of a blood boiling melee going on in here, and a bad one at that!" Knuckles said, "That thing's also got one of the Master Emerald pieces, and I've come to get it back!"

"All the more reason to destroy this thing!" Sonic said as he did as spin attack against the Golem's chest, "Keep it up! We can take 'em!"

"Got it!" both Tails, Knuckles, and Amy said as they did numerous combined attack against the Puppet Golem.

...

Merhea became increasingly worried for her sister, Maria. This time she cannot wait for her sister any longer, for she never liked to be separated from her sister in the first place.

"Hang in there, Big Sis..." Merhea muttered.

In her hands was the dark blue Chaos Emerald that she had found about two days ago, she used it in order to heal her sister before, and she might have to do it again. Merhea didn't want Maria to suffer alone anymore, this time, she's prepared to help take in the punishment. For she never understood why Maria was the one to take in the punishment of her crystalline features in the first place.

"I have to find her before it's too late... Huh?" Merhea then heard the sound of fighting going on, "Big Sis...!" Worried, for her sister, she ran towards the battlefield that is capable of taking one's life...

...

Sonic and his friends don't know how much longer they can keep fighting the Golem, for Sonic and his friends are continuously losing stamina. Sonic looked to his left and saw Maria still unconscious from blood loss, even so, she already seemed to be dead... Sonic and his friends, however, refused to give up...

"**What's the matttttttttttttteeeeeeeeeer?**" The Puppet Golem sneered, "**Almost deeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaadddddddddddddddd??**"

"Not... yet I'm not..." Sonic panted, for he was still weak from that time he was imprisoned in that Golem's lair.

"**Oooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh? Then I'll just beating until you're deeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaadddddddddddd!!**"

"Not in this lifetime..." Amy grunted as she still kept a grip on her hammer and charged at the Puppet Golem, "I'll just keep beating you until **you're** dead!"

"Amy! Wait!" Sonic tried to stop Amy, but she ignored him and inflicted a major dent on the Golem's spider-like body before retreating back to Sonic.

"I'll make sure that thing will pay for what that thing did to you..." Amy panted, "I won't forgive that thing... ever..."

_I get it_... Sonic thought. _She's still mad at the Golem for nailing my hands against that coffin in its lair_...

"Big Sis!"

Everyone, even the Golem, turned and saw Merhea running over to her sister's side.

"Big Sis!" Merhea shook Maria's body, whose face was covered with her hair, "Don't die!"

"**So theeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeee's the other humaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnn...**" the Puppet Golem sneered as it then sang, "**I've been wondering where she waaaaaaasssssssss!!**"

_So those things are after the Robotnik sisters?_ Sonic questioned in his mind. _But why? Whatever the reason_... "I won't let you harm them!" Sonic and his friends then charged at the Puppet Golem until...

"**Nice tryyyyyyyyyyyy!!**" the Puppet Golem placed three of its eight hands against the ground, which caused rock formations to bound Sonic, Tail, Knuckles, and Amy to their feet.

"W... What the!?" Sonic and Knuckles said, surprised.

"That's not fair!" Tails snapped.

"You fiend!" Amy said angrily, in a rage, she raised her hammer and smashed the rock binding her feet against the ground, "You won't get away with this!"

"**Hmph! A nuisannnnnnnnnnnnnnnncccccccccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeee...**" The Puppet Golem then began to look irritated, "_**Then I'll just bind your entire body!**_" With that said, after using three of its eight arms again, both of Amy's arms and legs were bound against the ground after knocking the Piko Piko Hammer our of her hands.

"Eek!" Amy screamed.

With all four of them bound against the ground due to the rock formations, the Golem slowly advanced towards Maria's unconscious body as Merhea trembled in fear.

"**I've been wanting to kill you two ever since you came heeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeee...**" it sneered with normal words as one of its hand turned into a sharp blade, "**I'll chop off the Crystal's head before I'll do the same thing to you too, little girrrrrrrlllllll...**"

"No!" Merhea placed herself above Maria in a hopeless attempt of protecting her sister.

"**Say goodbye to your liiiiiiiiiiiiffffffffffffffffe!!**" it then started to swing its hand-blade...

"Maria!!" Sonic yelled as everyone else closed their eyes.

"_**WHAK!**_"

..._What_...?! Sonic stood there, wide-eyed... The others opened their eyes and saw...

Maria's crystalline hand gripping onto the blade with ease...

"**W...What is this?!**" the Golem had an angry, yet surprised look on its baby doll-like face, "**She's should be dead!!**"

_She's... unconscious?!_ Sonic thought as Maria's crystalline hand broke through the Golem's blade by crushing it.

"**WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!**" the Golem screeched.

"B...Big... Sis...? Big Sis?" Merhea tried to understand what was going on, until she and the others saw her sister's crystalline hand doing a single slash against the monster.

"**UWAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!**" it screeched in pain.

It was then Maria's body chose to stand up, and everyone then noticed...

"Her eye is...?!" Sonic didn't get to finish his sentence as he and the others saw that as Maria was standing like a rag doll would, something black was covering her right eye. It didn't seem to be an injury, though, since she slowly opened her eye. As she did so, however, the black area around her red eye began to extend into what seem to the shape of a butterfly wing almost as big as her regular right hand. It had the blood-red to black color as Maria opened her let eye, which revealed her violet-colored iris.

"Big Sis...?" Merhea asked, still trying to understand what's going on.

"I'm ready to fight now... I've rested long enough..." Maria muttered as she readied her crystallized arm and glared at the Puppet Golem, "And this time... I won't hold back..."

...

**(End of the Twelfth Crystal)**

...

**Authoress' Notes:** Thought Maria lost her eye permanently? Haha... _Wrong_.

**References:** When Maria said "Where's that DANG fourth Chaos Emerald?!", she made an obvious reference to what Shadow the Hedgehog says in the _Shadow the Hedgehog_ game. However, Maria rarely curses, so she used a clean version of Shadow's "Where's that DAMN fourth Chaos Emerald?!" I don't know how to make Shadow say that line, since I didn't get to play much of it, due to the game being a little too confusing for me. I've heard that this line is used a lot in YouTube Poops (which are hilarious videos that poke fun out of numerous things), so you should look it up sometimes.

The reason why Maria says "Time drinks alcohol?" are Sonic says "Time's a wasting..." was because she was actually joking, which almost made Sonic laugh at it. However, most of the time, Sonic doesn't enjoy most of her jokes, since she tends to say then in the most serious moments. Of course, this is to add comic relief.

In Sonic Next, Elise had the dark blue Chaos Emerald in possession. However, according to some fan sites (I forgot which, though I _think_ it was Sonic Cult), that in early development, Elise instead had the green Emerald in possession. I think they changed it to dark blue because the green Chaos Emerald was being used too much in the game. Since Maria and the others already have the dark blue Emerald in possession, I made Elise and the Duke possess the green one instead.


	13. Fighting for the Fourth, Part 2

And just in time for the end of January, here's an update for all of those who have been patient! My seventeenth birthday went by about two weeks ago, and school's been the same as it always is.

Okay, as of this Crystal, ChojisGirl and soniawerehog had added RotCG into their Favorites without even leaving a comment. Oh well...

Oh, and to answer the Christmas Boy's (I'm talking about Llirbwerdnavidad's) question from his latest review from today... _Question: Does Maria's CBRD have something to do with her being a Crystal Golem?_ The answer is no, the CBRD (Comical Beatings and Rants of Doom) has nothing to do with Maria being a partial Crystal Golem. For Maria's been able to do the CBRD long before RotCG even started, so if that were the case, then Maria would have become one when she was either fourteen or fifteen years old (she's sixteen). The CBRD was added only for humor, you'll see more CBRD action in later Crystals.

Anyways, I thank Namless Daydreamer, Amy Alexis Rose (Amy has a middle name? I'm kidding), shadowdragon91, Llirbwerdnavidad (I'll call him the Christmas Boy), and C'est un Monde Merveilleux (formerly known as Epic-Awesome, I find the French name better, though I don't know what it means).

So uh... Enjoy!

...

**The Thirteenth Crystal: Fighting for the Fourth, Part 2**

...

"Sorry to spoil your fun, but this ends now..."

Everyone looked at Maria, who had a cold expression on her face. Never have they ever witnessed for Maria to look so angry and cold. Whatever the reason, they can tell that her anger came from the Golem. Her eyes had the characteristics whenever she went on a rampage: her right eye, the one with the blood-red to black butterfly-like "mask" over her red eye with a black cross-shaped pupil and black sclera; her left eye was the same for her right, only it was violet colored instead of red, and that it didn't have the butterfly-like "mask". Maria looked as if she was on another rampage, however, she seemed like as if she was able to keep control of herself this time.

Merhea, who was still next to Maria, quickly retreated over to Sonic despite the rock formations that kept him from moving. As for Knuckles, who also had his feet trapped, quickly punched off the rock in order to get himself free. With that done, he quickly punched off the rock binding Amy before giving back her Piko Piko Hammer, which was lying against the ground nearby. With her hammer recovered, she quickly smashed the rock that were binding both Sonic and Tails. All if this happened within seconds... It was then that the Puppet Golem had recovered from the blow that Maria had landed on it when she was unconscious; however, it wasn't able to recover all the way, since three of the five large claw that Maria had inflicted were still on it.

"**How can you still be alive...**" the Puppet Golem asked angrily.

"Like I said before..." Maria growled a little as she gave out a cold smirk, "I die hard..."

"**Hmph...**" its blade then turned back into its normal hand, "**Killing the younger one can wait...**" it then glared back at Maria before looking at Sonic and the others, who looked completely exhausted, "**I'll just kill you first, they're too weak to fight me now...**"

"Heh heh heh... Very well then, since you're talking normally now..." Maria smirked again, "But I won't go down that easily!!" she then punched at the Puppet Golem before she even finished her last sentence.

"**UWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!**" it screamed out in pain.

"I see you've managed to regenerate the two legs I tore off back at Angel Island," true to Maria's words, Sonic and Knuckles had noticed that the Puppet Golem had somehow managed to recover from all of its wounds from the time Maria had heavily damaged it. Sonic and his friends then looked back at Maria, who still had that... strange smirk, which exposed her crystalline fangs... "Then I'll just keep clawing at you until you can move no more..." she chuckled a little, then dashed at it with blinding speed, "Think you can survive?!" With tremendous force, she easily punched the Golem against the wall with a sickening crack... As the Golem screamed in pain once again, Sonic and the others just looked at the somewhat crazed Maria. To his friends, they just think that Maria just went into another rampage, but Sonic sensed something else...

...A sense to kill...

Sonic shook the thought out of mind, for he couldn't stand the thought of someone like Maria, a caring person, to have the sense of killing innocent people. _Whatever was causing her to be like this, it could have something to do with her eye...?_ Sonic thought. _Was she angry enough at the Puppet Golem that allowed her to keep her mind even in her _Golem_ form?_ Sonic once again shook the thought out of his mind. _No, that can't be... That kind of stuff only exists in comic books_... Sonic thought with an eyebrow slightly twitching as he mentally slapped himself. He tried to use his head again as he bit his left index finger in a thinking manner. _But... if it's not because of that, then... what's causing it?_

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" Maria laughed in an excited tone as she exposed her crystalline fangs and continued to easily deflect the Puppet Golem's attempts of attacking her.

"B... Big Sis...?" Merhea trembled as she clung onto Sonic's right arm.

Sonic wrapped her around his arm, "Don't worry, I'll take care of her if she goes insane again, okay?"

"It's not that..." Merhea said in a quivering voice, "It's just that... she seems to... be in pain..."

_She's suffering?_ Sonic raised an eyebrow, what did Merhea mean by that?

His question was instantly answered when Merhea looked up at him, "Please, help her..."

Sonic bit his lip, but he nodded in response. He then handed Merhea over to Amy and Tails, "You guys look after her," he turned to the red echidna, "Knuckles, you help me destroy that thing," Sonic said as he pointed at the Puppet Golem, "I don't know how much longer she'll last, she might cough up blood again soon."

"Got it," Knuckles nodded in response as both he and Sonic went on to help their friend.

Maria still had that evilly excited grin on her face as she continued fighting the Puppet Golem, or so most thought, but Sonic then saw sadness and pain through her exterior face when Merhea mentioned it. This was making him a little nervous after seeing her on such a frenzy, but he shook it off as soon as he landed a powerful spin attack on the Puppet Golem's side. It staggered a little, but Knuckles landed his own powerful uppercut at its chest before it could recover. Maria reacted in response with an excited yet sad shriek as she somehow managed to slash off one of its right legs.

"**GKYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!**" the Puppet Golem shrieked in pain as a thick black liquid began to ooze out...

_The Golem's poison_... Sonic thought, he then turned to Knuckles, "Watch out for that black stuff! If it touches you, you'll be killed before you even know it!"

"Thanks for the heads up!" Knuckles gave out a thumbs up in response before quickly checking his surroundings.

"Knuckles...?" Sonic gave him a brief questioning look.

"Hm!" Knuckles gave out a small smirk as he picked up a large piece of debris (which was a piece of the floor) before throwing it at the Puppet Golem.

"**GUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!**" it let out its metallic-like tongue as more of its poison oozed out.

"If we want to avoid that stuff, we might as well attack from afar," Knuckles said as he was ready to pick up another piece of debris.

_Something's not right_... Sonic thought. _This is too easy... Just what is that thing up to...?_

"Both of you!" Amy suddenly shouted out.

"Watch out!" Tails shouted short afterwards.

"Behind you!" Merhea yelled out in fright, "It's Big Sis!"

"Wha...?" both Sonic and Knuckles (who dropped the debris in surprise) turned behind them as...

"GRWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Maria let out an angry roar as she exposed her crystalline fangs at them...

"Maria! What are you...?!" Sonic's sentence was cut off as she charged right past Sonic and Knuckles, then a large grey ball-like bubble with a bluish tint suddenly appeared...

"Huh...?!" Sonic and Knuckles barely had any time to react as Maria quickly shoved them out of the bubble's way. However, it caused her regular right arm to get into contact with it...

"UGH...?!" she let out a grunt of pain as the bubble went through her arm, as it did so...

"Her arm is...?!" Sonic and the others had a somewhat frightened yet disgusted look on their faces as they saw her arm... looking withered almost to the bone...

"**Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!**" the Puppet Golem laughed like a sadistic child as it spoke, "**How do you like it? These balls are one of my special abilities! The reason why I didn't use them earlier was because I wanted to play with yooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuu!!**"

Maria's right arm limped as if it were a thin thread, everyone could tell that her arm is useless now... She didn't seem fazed by it though, since she bared out her crystalline fangs at the Puppet Golem again. She gave out a growl, showing that she no longer had that fake excited look on her face from earlier. Her attention then went towards the bubble that made her arm weak; in anger, she gave out a roar as she slashed at it with her crystalline claws, making it burst. As it did so, a very moist fog erupted as a bit of it got into contact with the skin on her shriveled arm.

"Heh..." Maria let out a heavily relieved sigh as she still exposed her fangs, which confused Sonic and the others for a moment, she then turned to the Puppet Golem, "I get it now..." she pointed at the Golem, "Those bubbles of yours can suck out the moisture containing hydrogen and oxygen... In other words..." she grinned at it as she exposed her fangs even more, "...Water... Am I right?"

"**Hmm...**" the Puppet Golem gave out an impressed smirk, "**Very good... I'm amazed that you've found ouuuuuuuuuttttttttttt. Normally, the other Human Crystal Golems would think that my bubbles absorb their bloooooooooooooood...**"

"Heh, I guess I'm more unique than the previous ones," Maria said, "I don't what's going on with me, but I'm not gonna let you kill me _that_ easily!" she bared her crystalline claws and charged at it.

"**Ehehehahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa!!**" the Puppet Golem laughed childishly as it released more bubbles from its mouth, making all of them getting into contact with Maria as she slashed left and right. However, this didn't stop some of the bubbles from absorbing the water out of her partially crystallized body...

"Maria!" Sonic and his friends cried out.

"Big Sis!!" Merhea covered her mouth with her hands as she and the others saw fog engulfing both Maria and the Puppet Golem, preventing them from seeing what was happening from within.

"**Huu huu huu huu huuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh...**" Sonic and the others froze as they heard the Puppet Golem's sadistically playful chuckling as it appeared from the fog, "**Say goodbye to that weak Human Crystal Golem...**" it chuckled disturbingly, "**She was strong, but no Human Crystal Golem is strong enough to survive these balls of sucking life...**"

Sonic couldn't stop thinking about what could've happened to Maria. If she was actually killed by the Puppet Golem, then that meant that Sonic had failed to keep his promise of getting the Robotnik sisters back to their home world. Even though he could get Merhea back home, but he promised to get both of them back to where they belong. _Not again_... Sonic thought. _It's just like that time before Maria had somewhat sacrificed herself in order to save me during that time at the workshop... and during that time_... Sonic's mind trembled as he bit his lip. _I couldn't do anything to help her_... Sonic trailed off from his thoughts as he thought that he heard some slight moment coming from behind the Puppet Golem. _Huh?_

"**Hmm?**" apparently, the Puppet Golem noticed this too, as did Sonic and his friends as...

"_**RUWAH!!**_"

_**CHONK!**_

"_**EYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!**_"

"What...?!"

"Big Sis...?!"

...Maria, whose entire body that looked withered except for her crystalline features, along with the butterfly-like mask over her right eye, had suddenly leaped out from the life-sucking fog from the bubbles as she sank her crystalline fangs into the Puppet Golem's shoulder since it didn't have a neck, which made the Golem scream in pain. All of these event happened within seconds before anyone had a chance to react. Maria's fangs continued to crush the Golems shoulder as she made sounds that seemed like as if she herself were sucking the life out of the Puppet Golem, which later became apparent as the Golem began to shake.

"**W... Wh... What are you doing?!**" it's baby doll-like face kept clicking its mouth shut as it tried to shake away from Maria's grasp.

"Grr..." Maria growled as she then made a few sounds of her exhaling, but she still had her fangs into the Golem's shoulder. After what seemed to be an eternity, which was actually minutes, small black spots and lines were beginning to appear on its body, which started from the spot where Maria bit him. To make things more surprising, it was spreading... Maria lifted her fangs out from the Golem shortly afterwards and jumped away from it, leaving the Golem to wither in pain.

_Maria can also spread poison?!_ Sonic thought. _Just... what is going on? This doesn't make any sense_... His thoughts were cut off as he heard the Puppet Golem scream in pain as the poison that Maria released was about to take its toll.

"**AWAH WAH WAH WAH?! WH... WHAT IS THIS?!**" it screeched, "**Human Crystal Golems can not spread poison!!**"

"Well, pity for you," Sonic gave out a grin with an angry look in his eyes, "Like what Maria said before, she's not like those previous ones you mentioned. And..." he pointed at the Golem with his wounded left arm, "I can finally get the payback I deserved after what you've done to me back in your lair."

"**Heh heh heh...**" it chuckled in a strange manner, "**After all these years, I've finally been defeated by one of those Human Crystal Golems. Looks like they DO become stronger every time they show up...**" Maria, still in her withered state, raised her large crystallized hand before crushing the Puppet Golem as it spoke its final words, "**I can't wait to see your face again in the hells of death... Until then...**" The Puppet Golem didn't say anything else as the poison took its toll by making the Golem crumble into dust, leaving a familiar green shard behind...

"..."

"..."

"..."

No one said anything in what seemed to be hours were actually seconds. Merhea held on to Amy's arm with Tails nearby, while Knuckles waited for Maria to move away from the pile of the Puppet Golem's dust, since it had a piece of the Master Emerald partially buried in it. Sonic, however only stared at Maria's still but withered figure. She already looked like she had somewhat regained some of her softness over her skin, but she still looked almost withered to the bone. It became fortunate that Maria has long hair, since it covered most of her face the entire time. Since she has a red sleeveless shirt with a white collar on, her regular right arm had looked almost withered to the bone from her shoulder to the tips of her fingers. It was impossible to see what became of her legs, since they were covered with her blood-stained jeans and shoes. Maria's still figure then twitched a little uncontrollably as her red brown and partially crystalline hair shook as well.

"Huh... _hah_... ugh... _ehuh_... ahuh..." Maria kept making random sounds from raspy breaths to somewhat painful coughs, she kept on making random noises until... "_MUGKH!_" she coughed up blood again...

"...Maria?" Sonic cautiously walked over to her aid, he slowly stretched his right hand to her, "Are you... okay?" Maria slowly clenched her teeth with her fangs showing in response, with a little blood slowly coming out from her mouth, "It's all right..." Sonic placed his hand on Maria's withered shoulder, "You can rest now..."

Silence...

"Big Sis?" Merhea called out from a fair few feet away.

Still no response...

"Maria...?" Sonic said her name in concern, "Come on, say somethin-...!" Sonic was cut off as soon as he felt sharp fangs dig themselves into his right arm. With an expression of shock and surprise in his face... "Wha...?"

"_**SONIC!!**_" his friends, including Merhea, called out his name.

"Unnh..." drowsiness, fatigue, and tension began to overcome Sonic's body. Struggling to stay awake, he bit his lip as he felt the familiar fangs beginning to leave his arm while hearing someone collapse in the process. The tension that was running through Sonic's muscles almost instantly went away, as it did so however, the fatigue and drowsiness began to take its toll on him as he himself collapsed. He heard Amy yelling, but he felt to worn out to even react.

"_Sonic!_ _**SONIC!!**_ _**SONIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!!**_"

The world then suddenly went black...

...

...

...

_Unnh... Huh...? Where... Where am I...?_

Sonic opened his eyes and saw himself lying in a pitch-black darkness, he didn't know where he was, but he knew that it's probably not a good place. With a little difficulty, Sonic managed to get up to his feet, despite the stinging pain that was coursing throughout his arms and legs. After taking a few deep breaths, Sonic looked around. Nothing but pitch-black darkness, so much to the extent that a person can easily feel lonely here...

"Tails?" Sonic called out the names of his friends as he slowly started walking forward, no answer.

"Knuckles?" Still no answer.

"Amy?" Once again, still no answer.

"Maria? Merhea?" It was then Sonic became a little desperate, "Someone? Anyone?!" Yet no one answered... "Just..." Sonic looked around again, "Where am I?" He didn't know what to do in this dark silence... Trying to remember what had happened, Sonic recalled all the events.

"Okay... Let's see... uh..." Sonic scratched his head, "There that fight with the Golem... and then Maria's eye had healed... Maria destroyed the Golem... and then..." Sonic then realized as he looked at his right arm, "She bit me again..." True to Sonic's words, two somewhat large bits marks can be seen on his skin, with each of then being about a centimeter wide, "I wonder why she did it..." he then pondered, "Then again, did she intend to do it?"

Sonic wasn't able to get any answer at all... nothing but an annoying pitch-black darkness at that.

"_Oi, Maria! Hurry it up! We'll be late for school!_"

"_I'm coming, I'm coming! Just get the car going, Lulubell!_"

"Huh?" Sonic, who was snapped out of his thoughts... again... looked around.

Random voices, one of them being Maria's, had filled the dark void that Sonic was in. He quickly looked around again, until he had to suddenly close his eyes in order to shield them from a bright white light...

When it suddenly died down, he opened his eyes and saw himself in an unfamiliar area. It wasn't until then Sonic found himself sitting down inside a car of some sort, the back seat to be exact. He looked to his left and saw two backpacks, one being red with green accents while the other was black with blue accents; to Sonic, the blue and black backpack looked really familiar... He then looked ahead and saw two girls sitting in both the driver and passenger seats, the one that was driving had red hair, while the one in the passenger seat had familiar dark red-brown hair. Could it be...?

"Maria...?" Sonic reached his hand out in order to get her attention until he noticed that his hand actually went right through the girl's shoulder, "Huh?!" To his surprise, neither of the girls reacted at all, as if Sonic had never existed...

"So, Maria," the redhead said as she turned her head to said person before looking back at the road again, "You said that Merhea's going to First Grade next year, right?"

"You got that right, Lulubell," Maria said as she took a deep breath.

_So _that's_ the Lulubell that Maria was talking about_... Sonic thought.

"Her birthday's been estimated to be on Christmas Day, so she'll be turning six this year," she then laughed a little, "Ahaha... It's only been four months since we've only started living with my great aunt and uncle, I've managed to start school again during my sophomore year, and now I'm in my junior year. It feels great to be in school again, you know? Not to mention it's already been a year, and Merhea are I are living happily now. Well... except for the increasing criminal activity going on around here... All of that aside, now that I have Merhea as a sister, I now have a reason to find a better future for both me and her."

"That's great to hear," Lulubell said as she then pulled into a parking space.

Sonic became so absorbed into the conversation between Maria and Lulubell that he didn't pay much attention to where Lulubell was driving, he quickly looked out the window and saw that Lulubell had parked into a school of some sort, most likely a high school due to the girls' age. As far as he knows from the conversation he heard just now, Sonic guessed that Maria's probably fifteen or sixteen years old right now. Since he remembered Maria once saying that Merhea was six years old back at Vanilla's house, and that she herself was sixteen. It was then Sonic realized...

_I'm... inside her memories?_ Sonic questioned. He didn't have time to think over it, however, since both Maria and Lulubell got out of the car that the three of them were in, closing the doors after them. Out of curiosity, Sonic attempted to placed his hand against the car door on his right, since that was where he was sitting at, wanting to go through it. To his surprise, his hand went through. Taking advantage of this fact, Sonic then managed to get out of the car himself simply by just going through the car door. By getting out of the car, Sonic stood up against the asphalt ground. He quickly went over to the other side and saw the two girls open up the left rear car door, they then grabbed their backpacks before shutting and locking it along with the car itself. Sonic then saw both Maria and Lulubell walking up to the nearby entrance of the school they were going to. Wanting to know what was inside, Sonic followed them.

It was then he was able to get a closer look at both Lulubell and Maria. Maria looked like the familiar emerald-green-eyed girl she was when Sonic first met her, only her hair was shorter by about three inches, which reached down to the upper middle of her back. She also had a different-looking pair of glasses, which were somewhat oval-squared-shaped with slightly thick black frames. Maria wore regular blue jeans, along with a white shirt with a blue back and long sleeves. Her most notable feature was the pair of shoes she was wearing... Red running shoes, with a white stripe, a yellow buckle, and red-and-white velcro straps...

"The way she's dressed looks a bit like me..." Sonic said to himself, "Maybe it's just a coincidence...?"

He then shifted his attention over to Lulubell, who was taller than Maria by a few inches. She had long red hair which reached down to the lower middle of her back, which was about three inches longer than Maria's and warm blue eyes. She wore a red shirt with a white crescent moon shaped like a necklace printed on it, along with very dark-red (almost black) jeans. Another notable feature was a pair of the army boots she was wearing... It was dark red with green ring-like fabric wrapped around the ankles, there was a yellow stripe across each boot, along with a thin gray metal plate on the top of the foot...

"And the way she's dressed looks like Knuckles'..." Sonic muttered in surprise again, "Surely this can't be a coincidence..."

"So Maria..." Lulubell trailed off as she tried to remember something, which snapped Sonic out of his thoughts, "Did you study for that history test that'll take place in Third Period?"

"You mean the one with the Confederate States in the Civil War and Mary Boykin Chesnut?" Maria said, "Yeah, I studied. Why? Don't tell me you didn't..." she then had a semi-scowl along with a bored look on her face.

"No, I did study, but..." Lulubell trailed off for a moment, "Um... Do you remember the name of Mary Chesnut's husband? I know that his name's on the test."

"James Chesnut Jr., a Brigadier General for the Confederate Army," Maria said as if it was obvious, "He was promoted to that rank in 1864."

"Uh..." Lulubell had a blank look on her face, then raised a brow before saying, "How long did you study...?"

"Three hours," Maria said as one side of her lips turned into a smile-like smirk.

"...I think you should spend some more time outside," Lulubell said with a slightly embarrassed look on her face, "Let's just go to class."

"Yeah-yeah-yeah," Maria waved her hand as she followed her friend inside the school, "Hopefully you could at least get a 'C', because you're gonna need it during the interim for history class."

Sonic didn't know anything about a Confederate States, a Civil War, a Mary Boykin Chesnut or a James Chesnut Jr., so he guessed that Maria's world really is different from his. Not wanting to get separated from Maria, Sonic followed her inside. The school looked bigger in the inside than he thought, the first area that both he and the girls were in seemed to be the school commons, due to all the other students sitting on tables eating food from disposable trays while others were listening to music in their MP3 players. The commons was also fairly crowded, which caused Sonic to lose sight of Maria more than once. Fortunately, he caught sight of her again and followed her down a hallway with lockers on both sides. When they were halfway through, Sonic saw Lulubell parting ways with Maria, possibly going to another class. He then noticed that Maria had a somewhat lonely look on her face, but she quickly got over it and started walking in the opposite direction.

"I guess Maria doesn't like being alone," Sonic said to himself, "I often wonder what she's going through..." He followed Maria again until she stopped at a locker with the number 141 printed on it, she placed her right fingers on the dial of the combination lock and twisted it a few times.

"Okay..." Maria muttered to herself as she twisted the lock again, "Eight right... Left eighteen... Right twenty-eight..." she pulled on the lock in order to unlock it, she then let out a deep breath, "There we go..."

Maria then removed the lock before opening the locker itself, to Sonic's surprise, it was very well organized. He saw a small gym bag that was hanging from the hook on the top, along with books and binders neatly put together, on the inside of the door was a small blue basket with a few mechanical pencils and erasers in it. Maria took off her backpack and took out a few binders and notebooks, putting some of them inside while she took some of the others out.

"Wait, I don't need that one..." she placed a white binder back into the locker, "That's for Third Period... Um..." she looked deep into thought again, "Then again, I could use the extra study time," she then placed the white binder into her backpack. She took out a black binder and a thin textbook with a black cover on it, "Gonna need that First Period... Dang, I hate Spanish..." she mumbled to herself before taking out a black sketchbook, "Art class... Yep, that's all of it for the first two..." Maria closed the locker door and put the combination lock back and locked it. She then closed the zipper on her backpack before slinging it over her shoulders, "I wonder if Lolita's here today..."

_Lolita?_ Sonic thought. _Maria mentioned her before, I wonder what she looks like?_ Ever since Sonic saw Lulubell, he became curious on what Maria's friends looked like. He also hoped he could find clues on what Maria was trying to remember, because she seemed really desperate when she tried to do so. Sonic recalled that Maria remembers her home, family, friends, and the school that she goes to, which all led him to question this: _Just what was she trying to remember?_ Sonic then snapped out of his thoughts as he saw Maria walking forward into a crowd of students (and a few teachers and staff members), not wanting to lose sight of her again, Sonic followed. It was a little difficult into keeping Maria into his line of sight, but since Sonic was able to walkthrough the crowd, he didn't have to worry losing sight of her as much. After about what seemed to be a minute, both Maria and Sonic were out of the crowded area.

"I hate those hallway intersections..." Maria grumbled as she sighed, "Too freaking crowded..."

"I agree," Sonic said before muttering, "Not like I'll get an answer..." he then looked up at Maria again and saw her go outside into a courtyard. Up ahead of them was another door leading inside another building, and Sonic noticed that Maria was walking towards it.

"Hey, Maria! Wait up!"

Both Sonic and Maria turned to the source of the voice, which came from a girl of fifteen who also bore a striking resemblance to someone that Sonic knows. She had cold earth-brown eyes and pale skin. She wore a long sleeved gothic lolita dress that reached down to the middle of her thigh, with a patch of white fabric covering up her chest area. She had long black hair that was tied up into two large ponytails that flowed from the sides of her head, which reached down to the bottom of her shoulders, on each ponytail was a red steak. She also wore long black thigh-high boots with a patch of white on the top of each foot with red chunky heels and soles. One long red streak can be seen on each of her arms and legs, which reached up to either her elbows or her knees. On each of her wrists were gold rings with black red-tongued cuffs connected to it.

"She's looks a lot like Shadow!" Sonic exclaimed in surprise, "It can't be a coincidence that Maria and the others are dressed up similar to me and my friends...!" He then went deep into thought, "Okay, uh... Who else did she mention...? Maria and Merhea mentioned Lulubell, Lolita and... who else...?"

"Oh, hey Lolita," Maria had a somewhat surprised look on her face, which snapped Sonic out of his thoughts once again in confusion, "I thought you were still sick with a cough and stomach problem?"

"I'm feeling better," Lolita said as she bowed a little and smiled, she coughed for a moment before muttering, "But... thank you for your concern."

"That's good," Maria said as she had a look of relief on her face, "I was really getting worried about you. In fact, I was planning on visiting you after school if you were still sick."

"Oh, really?" Lolita looked a little surprised and embarrassed, then she blushed a little before saying, "Thank you... As far as I know, besides my father, you're the only person who would care about me this much..."

"It's a habit, girl," Maria smirked as she nodded, "It's a habit," she then turned and started to walk towards the building she meant to go to earlier, "Come on, or else we'll be late for class."

"Okay," Lolita nodded as she followed Maria, "By the way, how's your sister doing at your house?"

"She's doing fine," Maria said as she gave out a chuckle and smile before going into the building with Lolita and Sonic following.

Sonic didn't know what to think about Maria now, since none of the things he's witnessed so far could lead to any clue on what Maria was struggling to remember. He also couldn't believe the striking resemblances that Maria, Lulubell, and Lolita have. Just what was causing these coincidences? However, Sonic didn't have time to worry about that, since he was more concerned about Maria's memory issue. Determined to find the answer that Maria was struggling to find, Sonic followed them until they reached into a certain classroom. He looked at the sign next to the entrance, which read...

"Spanish 2..." Sonic read, "Huh... I wonder how much Spanish Maria can speak?" Sonic shifted his attention back to Maria and Lolita, who were beginning to take to their assigned seats. They both ended up being in the second row of desks sitting next to each other, much to Sonic's enjoyment, since it'll save him the trouble of having to look after one or another since he can now see them at the same time. He looked around and saw at least twenty other students inside the room, all wearing a large variety of the typical teenage clothing, though Lolita's clothing seemed to be the most eye-catching.

"_**BOON!... BOON!... BOON!...**_" the sound of a digital bell rang throughout the entire school, in which most of the other student had scrambled into their seats in response. Sonic then looked high up at the walls and saw a clock reading "8:15 a.m."

_Looks like the school's started_... Sonic thought as he felt a little uneasy. _I've got a bad feeling about this_... He reverted his attention to the sound of footsteps, he turned and saw a young woman with thin short brown hair and a thin body. She wore a purple and black striped shirt with black pants and black high heels, she also had a slightly cross look on her face, but none of the students seem to react to it at all. _Must be the teacher, looks a little too young to be one though_... Normally, Sonic would explore the school, but since his chance of finding Maria's lost memory is on the line, he knew that he had to stay with Maria at all costs. He didn't know how long the class would be, but he can't risk losing Maria in this... memory lane...

Sonic then saw an empty desk behind Maria, who had a somewhat bored look on her face as she was taking notes. Already aware of the fact that no one could see him, Sonic slowly went over, then he stopped. Sonic was aware that he could go through certain objects, does this mean that he could through desks as well? Wondering what the answer would be, Sonic extended his hand to the table part of the desk, and, to his surprise, it was solid. Sonic then noticed that no one could hear him as well. Wanting to test that fact, Sonic gently knocked on the desk, which, to his surprise once again, no sound radiated from it.

_Huh?_ Sonic then knocked on it hardly, still, no sound came... Just like as if Sonic were nothing but a ghost... _It's kinda lonely, knowing the fact that I'm nothing in here_... Then the whole room, if not the entire world he was in, went a little darker. _Huh?!_

_TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...!_

The sounds of a clock ticking echoed throughout the room, which caused Sonic to look around and saw the students making movements at a rapid rate. He was about to question himself what was going on, but then the room suddenly went back to normal, brightness and all. Not long afterwards, the bell rang...

"_**BOON!... BOON!... BOON!...**_"

"It's already been about an hour?!" Sonic said in shock as he looked at the clock from earlier, which read "9:10 a.m."

"Finally, this period's over," Sonic looked at his left and saw Maria standing up, "Man, I hate this class..."

"At least you're passing," Lolita said as she also finished packing her things, "Otherwise you wouldn't even be able to go to a good college."

"I know," Maria said as she sighed, "Though I would've preferred learning Japanese..."

"Yeah, so do I," Lolita said as both she and Maria left the classroom as Sonic followed, "It's too bad that this school doesn't have such a class."

Sonic followed Maria again as she walked down a hallway shortly after parting with Lolita, who coughed a little after somewhat clutching her stomach after walking away. Sonic wasn't too concerned about Lolita, since she seemed to be able to take care of herself, not that he could do anything to help anyone here anyway... After shaking the thought aside, Sonic continued tailing Maria. Thankfully, the hallway was noticeably larger than the one that Maria's locker was in, meaning more visibility. With more visibility, Sonic was able to keep Maria in plain sight, much to his relief. After a few minutes of walking around in various directions, Maria stopped by a door that was being held open by a slightly plump teacher that was a few inches shorter than Maria, and had very short blond hair that didn't droop at all due to it being so short.

"Ah, Maria!" the woman said in a somewhat excited tone, "You're doing well?"

"Ahaha... Yeah..." Maria lightly laughed as she scratched her cheek with a finger, "I'm doing good, Miss Meese, what about you?"

"Just waiting for all the other students to get in here so we could start drawing the assignments," the teacher that was called Miss Meese said, "Oh, before you in, the assignment for today is to draw a comic page. Think you can do a good job at it?"

"Hey, you already know that I can make some good comics..." Maria said as she walked in.

"I know, I know, I'm joking," Miss Meese said, "Now run along and take your seat."

"Yes, ma'am," Maria nodded as she went over to a large desk that was across the room.

The classroom that Sonic and Maria were in was about five times larger than the classroom from earlier, around fifteen other students were also present. Judging from what the teacher said earlier, along with the various art supplies that could seen across the room, Sonic guessed that this was an art classroom, which was so obvious that he mentally slapped himself for it. All self-made jokes aside, Sonic noticed Maria already drawing on something. Like what the woman from earlier had stated, Maria was drawing panel boxes on a large piece of comic book paper.

_I wonder what she's drawing_... Sonic thought in interest as Maria scribbled what seemed to be random shapes of circles and squares with lines connecting them, but eventually they all began to form something that looked like a person. Sonic continued to watch with interest as Maria continued to draw random poses within certain spots on the paper, after a few minutes of quick sketching, Maria started adding in details.

"Heeeeeey, nice drawing ya got there, Marie!"

Sonic and Maria looked to their right and saw a red-haired boy with gentle light green eyes that was slightly shorter than Maria, possibly by about an inch. He wore a slightly loose red T-shirt with white edges, along with black jeans and red running boots with grey-black soles, along with a white stripe across each foot. He also wore a gold band on each wrist, along with a red bandana that was tied to cover some of his hair.

"I thought I told you not to call me that, Andy," Maria said, irritated, "You know I hate that name."

"Aw, come on!" the boy named Andy said as he sat down next to Maria with his comic page, "You're no fun, Maria, ya know that?"

_I remember now!_ Sonic thought. _I forgot about Maria mentioning Andy! And not only that, he looks a lot like Amy!_ Normally, Sonic isn't the type of person to overhear one's conversation, but since it could have something involving Maria's memory issue, he decided to listen in.

"Whatever..." Maria muttered in annoyance before returning to drawing her comic page, "So..." Maria then glanced at Andy before shifting her attention back to drawing, "How's your relationship with Lulubell going?"

"Ahaha!" Andy laughed a little, "It's goin' really well, in fact, Ah invited her out to go out to dinner with me this Saturday."

"Really?" Maria had an amused look on her face, "How'd she react?"

"She happily accepted without any trouble at all!" Andy said somewhat proudly, "Gonna hafta to find some pretty present for her, any ideas, mate?"

"Well, I know she likes things related to either boxing or kick boxing, but..." Maria trailed off, "I guess you could give her a doll of ... .... from the ... ... series..."

"Huh?" Andy gave Maria a look of surprise, "Ya mean that Lulubell's got a likin' for that red ... ...?"

"Yep," Maria grinned, "Just like that you have a liking for ... ..., while Lolita has a liking for ... ..., and that Merhea likes the character named ... ... And as for me, I like the main hero, ... ... ..."

"Okay, okay. Ya got me there, mate," Andy said as he himself grinned.

Sonic looked at them in confusion, when they were mentioning the names of certain characters, Sonic was unable to hear them. Why couldn't he? Could this mean that this was the thing that Maria was trying to remember? The words that Sonic couldn't hear?

"Anyways, Maria," Andy said as he also began to draw on his comic sheet, "How it goin' with Jamie?"

"Huh?" Maria blushed a little in response.

"Come on, ya know ya like 'im..." Andy grinned.

"N... No I don't!" Maria said in embarrassment, "He's just a friend of mine..."

It was then the world went a little darker again...

"Huh?! Again?!" now Sonic was getting confused, "Just what is going on?!"

_TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...!_

Sonic, knowing that there was nothing he could do about the sudden time shift, he just simply stood there, waiting for the area to turn back to normal. Instead, the entire place Sonic was in turned back into a complete dark void.

"What?" Sonic looked around, "Now wha...?" he suddenly felt very drowsy, for his limbs kept shaking all over. Trying to keep himself awake, Sonic pinched his arm, but like in previous attempts of staying awake from earlier, this failed. With no energy left to fight back, Sonic collapsed and blacked out once again...

...

"Sonic?"

"Is he okay?"

"We don't know yet... Hey! Look! He's waking up!"

Sonic opened his eyes and noticed that Amy and Tails were sitting next to the bed he was laying on, with Amy holding Sonic's left hand, much to his annoyance, but didn't show. He looked at his right, and saw that the place where Maria had bitten him was wrapped up with clean bandages. It was then he remembered...

"Sonic?" Amy said worriedly, "Are you okay? I was so worried..."

"I'm fine..." Sonic said as he breathed a little, "What happened... to Maria? Are the others okay?"

"Everyone's fine," Amy said as Tails nodded, "That monster's gone forever, it's over for that thing."

"Knuckles and Merhea are a-okay," Tails said, "As for Maria... Um..." he looked at the area behind him, "I really don't know, she's still withered, but not as much."

"I see... What is this place?" Sonic asked as he slowly sat up, "Are we still in the Castle?"

"Yep, we're still here," Amy said, "Both you and Maria were out throughout the whole night."

"Is Maria still unconscious?" Sonic asked as he was able to take a brief glance at someone on a bed nearby.

"Yeah, she still is," Tails answered, "Vanilla and Cream are trying to comfort Merhea right now, since she's been crying ever since you two fell unconscious."

"Where's Knuckles at?" Sonic asked, even though he already has an idea on what that Master Emerald obsessed echidna is up to.

"He already left Soleanna in search of the other Master Emerald pieces," Tails said, "He said that it could help us destroy that Golem's nest."

Sonic nodded after having all of his questions answered, after doing so, he slowly moved his legs over and placed his bare blue feet against the ground. He sighed a little in annoyance, because normally, he almost never takes his shoes off. Because one, most of the time he just doesn't feel like himself without any of his running shoes on. Second, he's always on the verge of running, which is why he wears them almost all the time. Sonic slowly examined his feet again, unlike the humans (or most animals in particular), Sonic's feet doesn't have any visible toes (nor does any of his friends, or anyone of their species in particular). His feet looked very clean and slick, covered in nothing but blue fur, even the bottom of his feet was covered. After shoving away his random thoughts, Sonic slowly picked up his shoes and slipped them on. It was then he realized that he also didn't have his gloves on, nothing but pale hands, not even claws, much less nails. Sonic also noticed that the scars that were on his hands were no longer there, as if they were never even nailed... Shoving away even more thoughts from his mind, he slowly took the pair of gloves that Amy had with her and slipped them on as well. Satisfied that he had his gloves and shoes back on, he felt like his normal self again. Since Sonic still had his usual dislike of sitting around, he quickly stood up against the ground and flexed his legs due to them being so stiff.

"Are you feeling better Sonic?" Amy asked as she placed her hand on his recently wounded shoulder.

"I'm fine, thanks, though," Sonic said before moving towards the bed containing Maria, "I'm just more concerned about her... Huh...?" Sonic then noticed something, "That's strange... How come Maria isn't as withered as she was earlier?"

"I really don't know if this is the answer, but..." Tails trailed off for a moment in thought, then said, "Shortly after she bit you, she lost part of her withered state. I think she bit you in order to get some of your blood..."

"Are you saying that Maria's like a vampire?!" Amy shrieked a little hysterically as Sonic sweatdropped a little, "You don't think that Sonic's going to turn into that... crystal thing, right?!"

"Uh... no, actually," Tails said with a nervous look on his face, "That's not what I meant. I mean, take this as an example: What if Sonic also has Golem traits in him?"

"Eh?" Sonic looked at his bandaged wounds on both his arms, "Are you saying that...?"

"Yeah, it's gotta be the poison," Tails said as he pointed at Sonic's recent wound, "You were infected by it before Maria bit you for the first time, which could mean that when Maria sucked it out, some of the non-lethal part of the poison was left inside."

"And since she's also part Golem..." Sonic muttered before realizing, "What if my blood has turned into Golem blood?"

"That could be it," Tails nodded in a thinking manner, "I mean, you once said that Maria's been reacting to either Golems or Chaos Emeralds?"

"...Does this mean that I'll really turn into one of those monsters...?" Sonic's hand trembled as he muttered.

"I don't think so," Tails said, "I think Maria needs Golem blood to survive, but she can't stand the poison. Which could be why she threw up during that time, that may have been the reason why she bit you."

"Aw..." Amy groaned as she scratched her head with both hands, "All of this is so confusing!"

"All of that aside..." Sonic went into thought again, "Tails, remember that talk I had with you? You know, the one when Maria was struggling to remember something?"

"Yeah," Tails nodded, "What about it?"

"I think I may have an idea on what it might be," Sonic said, "However, since Maria's still unconscious, I'll have to ask Merhea and see if she knows anything."

"Just you?" Amy asked.

"Yeah," Sonic nodded, "Since Merhea is the younger sister, there's a big chance that she might also know Maria's friends. Speaking of which..." Sonic looked around, "Where is she?"

"After seeing Maria in such a state..." Amy then became a little sympathetic, "She's been crying a lot, Vanilla and Cream has been trying to comfort her ever since... I think they're in the bailey."

"I know, I feel bad for her..." Tails said with a sad look on his face, "To see her older sister suffer like that... Maria doesn't deserve any of that..."

Sonic didn't say anything afterwards as he took a closer look at Maria again, who was still unconscious. He noticed that her clothing was changed again, however, this time, she had a sleeveless white shirt and black knee-length shorts. It was then he also noticed that the butterfly like thing over her right eye was no longer there, only slightly crystallized skin. Part of her hair was also crystallized, along with her left arm, and both of her legs were crystallized all the way up the middle of her thighs. After all that pain Maria has been going through, along with the sadness of Merhea, Sonic was determined to stop this.

"I'll be back in a little bit," Sonic said as he turned to leave, "Look after Maria for me, will you? I need to ask Merhea something."

"Okay," Tails nodded.

"You can count on us!" Amy said, forgetting about what she said earlier.

"Thanks," with a small smile on his face, Sonic left the room.

Now I have to find what that memory Maria's been trying to remember...

...

"Nice job, Shadow. You did great in bringing Rouge back safe and sound."

"I was just doing my job. Nothing more."

"Very well, then. You may leave now."

After receiving the briefing for the mission of bringing Rouge back to the GUN headquarters, Shadow left almost instantly. Somehow... he _just_ doesn't like being in there for some reason... Although he has nothing against the Commander of GUN, he just doesn't like being in that office. All of that aside, Shadow quickly left the building itself, since he felt that he needed to clear his mind over things.

"I wonder how Maria's doing..." Shadow said to himself. Ever since he managed to get to know Maria, he didn't mind her being in friendly terms with him. However, he couldn't help but be concerned for her health. Just like the Maria he knew from fifty years ago, the Maria with brown hair has also been having some problems. But with Sonic around, he didn't have to worry as much.

"Hey, Shadow..."

Shadow looked behind him and saw Rouge the Bat holding a few pieces of paper with a grim look on her face.

"Rouge?" Shadow blinked in slight surprise, "What's wrong?"

"...I did some research over those Golem monsters that Maria's been destroying, I also did some research over the part of people crystallizing, and I..." Rouge held out the few papers to Shadow, "Found this in GUN's records."

Shadow took the papers and read them, his eyes then widened a little, "Are you saying that GUN has come across those monsters twenty years ago?"

"Yes," Rouge nodded, "There was also another incident involving..."

...

**End of the Thirteenth Crystal**

...

**Authoress' Notes:** The Puppet Golem has finally been defeated, but what has become of the fourth Chaos Emerald? Stay tuned to find out! (Dang, I hate those ads...) But hey, at least you get to see what some of Maria's past was like!

**References:** I find it pretty silly about the old "Main hero becomes stronger when angered", for that only exits in comic books, I slapped that in just for a little humor.

Before Sonic blacks out shortly after Maria bites him, the part when Amy kept calling out his name was a slight parody of something from the Metal Gear series by Konami. One such example was when the Colonel screams out Snake's name like "Snake! SNAKE! SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!!" This can also bee seen in SSB: Brawl on the Wii. When you do the hidden Codec Info (it's an Easter Egg, look it up on Youtube) for Luigi, the Colonel will be acting all weird and stuff, and Snake will be calling out to the Colonel in the same manner. It's pretty funny if you ask me.

Andy Tulip speaks in a Southern accent, which is why his dialogue is a little weird. Not that it matters, I was having too much fun writing him as that anyway.

The Fourteenth Crystal will be posted sometime around February, so have fun reading this until then.

Like I've said in the previous Crystals. If you like this story enough to put into your Favorites List, please leave a review, I would love to hear your opinions. Because leaving a review is better than just putting it in your Favorites it without commenting, so don't be shy to leave a review.


	14. Joined Hands

Okey Dokey! Fourteenth Crystal has finally arrived! Begone unlucky number thirteen! ...Okay, just so you know, I'm not superstitious. I only did that for fun, so go easy on me, please.

Anyways... as of the Fourteenth Crystal, C'est un Monde Merveilleux has added the story to his Alert List (what is that, anyway?), Scorp316 has added RotCG into his Favorites list. And of course, Leaf-chan has added this story into her Favorites list without leaving a comment (I hate that, you know...).

With that out of the way, I thank the following reviewers:

Llirbwerdnavidad: Christmas Boy! Hee hee! (Sorry, couldn't resist) Huh, you find the fact that the fourth Chaos Emerald was the green one a bit creepy? I thought I already explained why I used the green one next in the Twelfth Crystal... Oh wait, I did. Okay then, I dare you to guess which color the fifth Chaos Emerald will be next.

Amy Alexis Rose: Thanks for the blessing! Even though I'm not religious, I respect the ones who do.

Namless Daydreamer: Where's that 'e'?! I'm joking, but... Isn't it suppose to be "Nameless" Daydreamer? (I'm talking about the first "e")

shadowdragon91: You're so sweet to care about Maria. Heh, I actually had a hard time creating her personality, you know that? But I'm happy with the results.

C'est un Monde Merveilleux: _It's a Wonderful World_, alright! Oh, and you don't need to call me _Ms_., not used to formal titles. Oh yeah, and good luck on your research competition.

Scorp316: Since you say 'Dude', I'll say 'Dood' like the Prinnies!...Not! But seriously, go look them up on Google and YouTube (mostly YouTube), they're funny.

...

**The Fourteenth Crystal: Joined Hands**

...

"Just what should I do...?"

The sounds of Sonic's footsteps echoed inside the giant empty corridor as he walked, whatever the memory that Maria was trying to remember, he had to help her recover it. For it could lead to a way that could bring the Robotnik sisters back into their home world. Even though there's a chance that Merhea might not know what Maria couldn't remember, it was still worth a shot. The only clues Sonic has came from the memory he was somehow able to go to, and he doubted that he would be able to see it again. However, he had to be careful. Because Merhea, who is unusually smart for a six-year-old girl, could get suspicious if Sonic said things related to their home world since he had never been there before. Judging from what he heard from Lulubell, Lolita, and Andy, Merhea was in Kindergarden who was to turn six years old, while Maria herself is a high school junior, which means that she must be in Eleventh Grade. As far as Sonic knows, high school juniors are usually sixteen or seventeen years old, and Maria is sixteen.

"Could it be..." Sonic then snapped in realization as his eyes widened a little, "...That it occurred some time before Merhea's sixth birthday? She's already six years old right now..." He went deep into thought again as he scratched his head, "Augh... if I could just hear what those words were..."

Even so, he could not understand why he couldn't hear those words. Then again, it seemed to be Maria's memory, so it would make sense if those words were silent.

"I've got to find out what all of this means..." Sonic said to himself before looking around, "Now where's Merhea..."

"Oh, Sonic!"

Sonic turned his head and saw Vanilla, with both Cream and Cheese by her side.

"You're finally awake!" Vanilla wrapped her arms around Sonic in a motherly fashion, "We were so worried..."

"Vanilla?" Sonic asked after Vanilla released him, "Where's Merhea? Wasn't she with you?"

"She was," Vanilla nodded as she had a worried look on her face, "But she became tired after crying for quite a while, so I let her sleep in that bedroom in that door behind us. I think we should wait until her sister wakes up."

"...All right," Sonic nodded in response before saying, "Just be careful if you're going near Maria, though. She might still be on one of her rampages. Tails and Amy are looking after her right now, but like I said before, be careful."

"We'll be careful," Cream said as Cheese chirped in agreement before walking away.

Thoughts rushed into Sonic's mind again, whatever those words were, Maria has to remember them. With these same thoughts repeating in his mind, Sonic slowly (and quietly) went inside the room where Merhea was said to be located. Like what Vanilla had said, Sonic saw Merhea sleeping on her left side on top of the covers on a bed designed for guests. She still wore the white hoodie with a yellow hood, back and long sleeves, along with the dark blue jeans from earlier. He also noticed a small wet spot on her right sleeve, judging the fact that it was still a little wet, he figured that Merhea was crying not too long ago. Sonic, who still had his usual dislike for tears, wondered if there was anything he do to cheer her up. However, he is not Maria, for he doesn't know what were the usual methods Maria uses in order to do so. Normally, he could try waiting for Maria to wake up, but he couldn't stand Merhea crying like that. With a sigh, Sonic gently rubbed Merhea's head in a comforting manner, in hopes of waking her up in a more gentle way. He didn't know how long Maria will stay unconscious, and he might as well use the extra time into trying to find Maria's lost memory.

"It hurts..."

Sonic instantly withdrew his hand as soon as Merhea spoke. Being curious, he asked, "...What hurts?"

"It hurts..." Merhea muttered as she covered her face with her wet sleeve, "It hurts to see Big Sis like that... She's been hit in the head so many times... what if she forgets me next?"

"W...what?" Sonic's mind clicked as soon as he heard those words, "You mean she's forgotten something before?"

"Yeah..." Merhea said as she sat up, which showed shedding tears again, "I think she's finally getting to remember. Either that..." she looked at the door Sonic came from earlier as she was still shedding tears, "...Or she might forget one, if not all... of us..."

"What happened?" Sonic urged her to go on. Could it be that the words Sonic couldn't hear was not the thing she was trying to remember?

"It happened about a month before I turned six years old, I'm going to be seven soon..." Merhea rubbed off her tears with her sleeve, "I really don't know all the details, since I wasn't with Big Sis during that time but..." she trailed off as she cried a little again.

"Merhea..." Sonic rubbed his hand against her head in hopes of comforting her, "What happened last year? I need to know."

"Well...*hic*... Big Sis... went out to a state fair with... with Jamie and..."

Words clicked into Sonic's mind again, this time, it was the name "Jamie" that caught his attention. Speaking of which, he remembered that boy named Andy mentioning someone called Jamie, not to mention that Maria looked a little embarrassed in the process. If what Merhea said was true, about Maria being hit in the head... could that mean...?

"Who is this 'Jamie' you're speaking of?" Sonic asked as he became a little curious, since he never saw this person inside of Maria's memory, "Is he a friend of yours?"

"Uh-huh..." Merhea nodded as she sniffled a little, " His full name is _Jamie Bon Kudo_, he's in the same grade as Big Sis, he also shares most of the same classes with her according to Lulubell. Um..." she tapped her head with her finger for a moment, "I think he's around... five or six months younger that Big Sis? Yeah, it's around there..."

"What does he look like?" Sonic asked as he noticed Merhea calming down a little.

"He's pretty shy for a guy like him," Merhea said as she went somewhat deep into thought, "He a little bit taller than Big Sis, but the most notable feature he has is the bandages that's wrapped around his head, covering both his right eye and ear. Although his hair covers most of it..."

"I see," Sonic said with interest in his voice, "Okay... so Maria went out to that fair with him about a year ago, what happened afterwards?"

"Auntie and Uncle, or anyone knowing about it wouldn't tell me," Merhea said as she shrugged sadly, "All I know is that Big Sis suffered a nasty blow to the head, she was out for a week..." she then sighed, "When she came to... she couldn't remember anything related to that time she went to the fair with him... Jamie then looked like as if something had broken his heart, but..."

"Are you saying that Maria had a case of amnesia?!" Sonic asked surprised.

"Is that what it's called?" Merhea gave Sonic a questioning look, but continued, "I guess that's it. Ever since that time... she's been forgetting things a lot..."

_So Maria never meant to forget those things intentionally after all_... Sonic thought, remembering the times when he and the others (mostly Knuckles and Rouge) had given Maria irritated looks whenever she forgets something. Now that he thought about it, he instantly regretted it. _Guess I'll have to apologize to her when she wakes up_...

"Though..." Merhea spoke as Sonic reverted his attention back to her, "After she got home from the hospital, I asked her what happened, but she says that she doesn't know. I then asked her how her trip to the fair was, but then she said that she never went there. And when I asked her again, she became irritated at me asking the same question. So eventually, I stopped asking."

"So Maria thinks that she doesn't have amnesia, huh..." Sonic sighed a little as he crossed his arms, "That could be a problem."

"I know," Merhea sighed as well, but deeply, "Big Sis has only been forgetting minor things, but... now that she's suffered some major blows... I'm worried that it might get worse..."

Sonic's eyed widened a bit after hearing that, for he feared that if Maria truly does have a certain case of amnesia, what would become of her?

_Just _what_ is going on with her_...?

...

"Amy! Amy! Wake up!"

"Un... huh...?"

Tails gently shook Amy awake, who still felt a little groggy. Suddenly realizing that the situation could be serious, Amy jolted herself awake.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, though her question was instantly answered when she saw the bed near her.

"Maria's gone!" Tails said.

"What?!" Amy looked and saw nothing but an empty bed with crumpled sheets on top of it.

Tails then placed his hand on the bed, "It's still warm, she probably hasn't gone to far. We better find her, and quick!"

...

What...? No... What...? No... Huh...?

I had my right hand pressing against my head, which was pounding like crazy as I walked sluggishly through the insanely large hallways. About ten minutes ago, I woke up in a room of some sort as I saw both Tails and Amy fast asleep on two chairs, but I already left the room because I didn't want to disturb them. I don't know how long I was out, but since it was around the evening when I went up against that Puppet Golem, I guess I was out unconscious throughout the whole night. My vision was a tad off, but I could see well enough without my glasses, since my right eye is partially crystallized. I never really understood how that can happen, but I don't care. As long as it's crystallized, I don't need to worry about my spare pair of glasses, for its lenses broke to pieces when the Puppet Golem knocked it out of my face before my right eye had healed completely. Great... now both pairs of my glasses are broken...

"Ugh...!" I then tightly gripped my chest over my heart, which was pounding just as much as my head. I silently cursed at myself, I must've lost too much blood in that melee. I can't remember all the things that happened, but I do remember those bubbles that sucked most of the moisture out of my body. I can also barely remember that I somehow had the strength to actually bite that Golem... speaking of biting...

...I bit Sonic... again...

Ignoring the pounding that was going on in my head and chest, I ran my fingers across my teeth- er... fangs? I noticed that I had two slightly long crystalline fangs replacing my upper maxillary canines, much like those of a vampire. I also noticed that all of my canines had also turned into smaller crystalline fangs as well, I think my molars (which are the flat teeth) are crystallized as well, this time without fang-like features. Well... at least I'm not having any problems involving my mouth.

I then remembered Sonic again... Oh man... I can't believe that I bit him... again... And what's worse, I can barely remember that I actually sucked some of his blood... and it tasted... really...

...good...

I instantly covered my mouth in shock with my right hand. _What am I thinking?!_ I can't go out sucking Sonic's blood, much less anyone else's! I mean, sure, I'm pretty positive that my body wasn't as withered after I did that, but... If that's what it take for me to turn my body back to normal skin wise, then I won't do it. I don't want to hurt Sonic like that ever again... Sonic must be angry at me for biting him, despite the fact that he tends to have the guts to forgive, even if that person _was_ trying to take his life. I mean, take Silver for an example. In _Sonic Next_, even though Silver did attempt to kill Sonic, he quickly forgives Silver after they both went out to save Elise. Even though I'm pretty sure that Sonic might forgive me, I know I can't forgive myself for doing it. For the fact that Sonic's blood had such a disgustingly metallic good taste... I shuddered at the thought, I can't believe that I'm slowly turning into this... monster of sorts... it's... just disgusting... it makes me feel sick to my stomach.

"Why is this happening to me?" I asked myself before thinking about Merhea, "Well... at least she doesn't have to go through any of this... better me than her..."

I kept walking in a sluggish manner, I should be resting, but I didn't want to go insane in front of the others again. I especially didn't want to go on another rampage in front of Sonic, I've already hurt him enough. And I still haven't gotten over that time when I broke down in front of Sonic. Just why? Why can't I remember... whatever I was trying to remember? I know it happened about a year ago, and that someone from school... said that he wanted to tell me something after school on the day that Merhea and I got ourselves into this world... I know it's not Andy, but... who was it?

"Augh!" I felt a pang of pain pound itself into my head, "Ugh... Why is it that I always get a headache whenever I'm trying to remember something I can't?" I asked myself irritably before sighing, "Ah great... I'm picking fights with my own mind... Man, I really need to stop talking to myself..."

It was then that I was beginning to feel more awake and steady, which made my steps and eyesight less groggy. When my eyesight became completely clear, I examined myself. My left arm was still crystallized that made it twice the size of my regular right arm, while the bottom half of my hair was in it crystalline blue color. My right eye is still crystallized, which is fine with me since I don't need to worry about my sight. The most shocking thing I've seen so far were the features on my legs, for they were crystallized from all the way up to my mid-thighs. I didn't have any shoes on (much less socks), which left my crystalline feet bare, with small claws exposed. Basically, except for my arm, which had rocky-like crystals, all my other crystallized parts were smooth. Well, at least I won't have to worry about scratching the castle floors... I then looked at my current attire, which is basically nothing but a sleeveless white shirt and black knee-length shorts. I slightly laughed ay myself, I must've been ruining too many good-looking clothes with blood, I guess they got tired of me doing that. Oh well, at least no one will care about these.

I then sighed, "I wonder how Merhea's doing..."

I then became worried about Merhea, I know that she doesn't have any Golem traits... At least... I hope she doesn't... But she was able to heal me with the power of the Chaos Emerald before I was about to die after our first fight with those Pewter Golems. With her having those healing powers, that's fine by me, but I'm worried that she might also turn into the thing I'm turning into. Thankfully, she hasn't been coughing up any blood, but I'm also worried that she might do that as well. Well... only time will tell for that...

It was then I left a gentle hand wrap itself around my right shoulder...

"Eh?"

"_Surprise!_"

"_**UWAH!!**_"

I jumped in surprise, making the hand release me in the process, making me realize that it was only...

"Elise!" I scowled at her with a smirk on my face on that somehow really stealthy princess.

"Hehehe! I'm sorry," Elise giggled as she waved her hand at me, "I thought that would cheer you up."

"Huh?" I looked at her with a confused look on my face.

"You looked a little down," Elise said as she smiled a little, "You've been sighing quite a bit, so I thought maybe I could make you laugh!"

I snickered a little now that I thought about it, "You're right, I do feel better..." I said as I placed me right hand against my forehead, "Thanks..."

"You're welcome," Elise smiled, then she seemed to have realized something, "Oh! That's right..." It was then I noticed that she had a small white hip pouch matching her dress as she slipped her hand inside of it before taking out... "Father wanted me to give this to you, Maria."

I looked at what she was holding and saw that it was... "Oh, right... The Chaos Emerald that he promised to give to us, I forgot about that."

"Well, still," Elise said as she held out the Emerald to me, "Take it, it's yours now."

I looked at the Emerald again. After having that strange reaction from the Chaos Emerald that Sonic had with him during that time in the balcony, I didn't want to lay my hands on any of them for some time.

"Um... Actually..." I trailed off as I tried to think up a good excuse for Elise, "I really think you should give it to Sonic. After all, he was one who needed it, not me..." Actually, I was _somewhat_ lying on that one. Because for starters, I actually do need the Emerald myself, but Sonic called for it "first" before our fight with the Puppet Golem. Not that I mind, though.

"Are you sure?" Elise asked as I nodded in response, "Well, alright. I'll give it to him for you. By the way, everyone's for you, and they seemed to be worried about you. Did you leave your room without telling anyone?"

"...Everyone...?" Wait... who is she talking about? But I then realized, "Oh, right... Sonic and the others... Where are they?"

"There in the main bailey," Elise said before grabbing my right hand, "Come on! I'll lead you there!"

...What does she mean by... there...? And... why is she... taking me there...? Wait... what... what I was trying to remember...?

I let go of her hand as I tried to follow...? I looked to my right and saw...

I was... instantly filled... with sadness...

...

"You what?!"

"I'm sorry, she somehow left so quietly!"

Sonic instantly became worried as soon as Amy and Tails had told them of Maria's sudden disappearance. In the condition Maria was in, she shouldn't even be moving around, and having lost a lot of blood doesn't help. Even though she might've fed on some of Sonic's own blood, he can't risk her doing it again, for he might also die of blood loss if that keeps up. Sonic didn't know whether Maria was trying to play a joke or something, but he doesn't find it funny.

"Augh..." Sonic sighed in frustration, "How long ago was it?"

"I think it was only a few minutes before we discovered her being missing," Tails said, "I mean, her bed was still warm when we checked it..."

"I see..." Sonic scratched his head, "Then she couldn't have gotten too far."

Standing near Sonic, Tails, and Amy were Vanilla, Merhea, Cream and Cheese as they the three of them talking about Maria's sudden disappearance until...

"ACK! I lost her again!" Everyone turned their attention behind them and saw Elise somewhat worriedly looking around, "I told her to follow me here..." she then sighed in response.

"Where did you last see Maria, Elise?" Sonic asked somewhat quickly, "When?"

"Just a few seconds ago," Elise said as she sighed, "She looked really tired and down too, I'm worried about her..."

"...Down...?" Merhea muttered, but no one noticed, as she took out her own ocarina flute from the pocket of her hoodie before placing it back.

"Can you tell us where she might be?" Sonic asked again.

"I think I know, but... on the way here there was..." Elise then looked down the hallway they were, until they heard what seemed to be a lullaby echoing down the hall...

"..._dus homo reus_..."

"...No..." everyone looked at Merhea, who looked shocked to the bone as her eyes widened at their maximum, and her body was shaking, "...No... Why...?"

"Merhea?" Vanilla said the child's name as she and the others looked at her.

"_Maria no Komari Uta_... _Lacrimosa_..." she spoke with a slightly Japanese accent before saying a Latin word, "Why Big Sis...? Why are you...?"

"..._jesu domine_..." Maria's voice echoed as the painfully beautiful song barely came to everyone's ears...

"Merhea?" this time Sonic was the one who spoke.

"She can't!" Merhea closed her eyes and yelled as tears slowly streamed out of her face, "She can't! No... Big Sis! Any song but that!!"

"Hey, wait!" Sonic tried to calm Merhea down before she ran down the hallway that was leading to her older sister, "What are you talking about?!"

"We better follow her," Amy said in a serious tone before she and the others (including Elise) followed Merhea.

"Any idea what's going on?" Sonic asked as his friends followed (since he ran at normal human speed for everyone's sake).

"No idea," Cream said worried, "But Merhea seemed to be really upset..." Cheese then chirped "Chao" in agreement.

"Hey, she turning towards the..." Elise trailed off as they outside leading towards a familiar yard with large flat stones jutting out from the ground... "...family graveyard..."

"You keep a cemetery in this castle?" Vanilla asked as she and the others saw Maria standing within the center, chanting strange words...

"_Judicandus homo reus... Huic ergo parce, Deus_..."

"This is the cemetery where the entire family tree that I'm in is buried," Elise said as Maria continued to chant, "What is she doing?"

Everyone looked at Merhea, who once again looked shocked to the core. She had her light blue ocarina flute in her hands, and looked at it as a few tears dropped on it. She muttered a few words, but they were too soft for anyone to hear. What was also noticeable about Merhea was that her body was shaking quite a bit, as if she were shivering or shuddering at the same time.

"Merhea, what's wrong?" Tails asked finally, "Why are you crying?"

"..._Pie Jesu Domine_..."

"I'm not crying for myself..." Merhea muttered, "I'm crying for Big Sis..."

"_Lacrimosa dies illa_..."

"Any idea what she's singing?" Sonic looked at Maria again, whose crystalline features glowed in the sunlight, "She does a good job at it."

"There's nothing good about that song, Sonic!" Merhea bursted out as tears continued to flow from her eyes, "There's nothing good about it..."

"Why is that..." Sonic trailed as he blanked out for a moment.

"...'_Lacrimosa_'... means '_weeping_' in a Language called Latin..." Merhea explained, "In other words..." she then looked at Maria, "Big Sis... is crying..."

"_Qua resurget es favilla_..."

"Any idea why?" Vanilla asked.

"Once a month..." Merhea trailed off before saying, "Big Sis would take me to a place just like this, she would then come across two of those big stones... and sing this... this... _requiem_ until night... or until she faints... That's the only time whenever I see her cry..."

"Until she faints?" Vanilla said surprised, "How come you never tried stopping her?"

"From what Auntie and Uncle told me," Merhea said as she calmed down while Maria continued to chant her requiem, "Big Sis really loved her parents," she then sighed, "...It's almost been two years since they died according to Auntie, she had hoped that Big Sis would try getting a boyfriend when she started school again, but... Big Sis chose not to have one, since she preferred to care for me. Because of that..." Merhea sighed again, "I didn't want to hurt her even more..."

Something then clicked into Sonic's mind, now that thought about it, during that memory... didn't Andy say something about Maria liking this person named Jamie enough for him to be a boyfriend? He remembered Maria being embarrassed when Andy said it. Sonic didn't know what to think, he then tried to think, what did that memory mean?

"Then why..." Sonic began, "Why can't she remember...?"

"Sonic?" Amy called out his name.

"If she forgot him..." Sonic trailed off, ignoring everyone.

"Sonic!"

"Wha...?" Sonic didn't seem to react, he placed his hand over the side of his head as he tried to think, "What is... this thing...?"

"Sonic, wake _UP!_" Amy then yelled into his ear.

"Ow! Amy!" Sonic flinched a little in response before glaring at her, "Don't do that! That hurts, you know!"

"Then why do you keep blanking out like that?"

"Huh?" As Sonic gave Amy a clueless look, they noticed something along with a sudden gust of wind.

Maria stopped singing...

"Big Sis!!" Maria turned and noticed Sonic and the others (including Elise) as she saw Merhea rushing up to her... "Why?!" Maria only stared at her with a blank look on her eyes before kneeling down and placing her regular right hand on Merhea's head and rubbing it. However, this didn't help in comforting Merhea at all. As she then yelled at her older sister again, "Answer me, Big Sis!!" Maria had an offended look of sorrow on her face, but still had that blank stare.

"I'm..." Maria began to speak, "...sorry..."

"You're not sorry!" Merhea yelled at her sister again as Maria blinked and stared at her with widened eyes in response, "You said that you would always be strong! Ever since we got ourselves here, you've never acted like your usual self! Why must you always be hurt this way?!"

"...I..." Maria tried to speak, but couldn't as her crystalline hand began to tremble, "...I..."

"We been missing from our home for over five days!" Merhea kept saying, "Auntie and Uncle and... basically everyone we know are worried about us!" She then grabbed Maria's trembling crystalline arm, "Not only that, Jamie's been waiting for you!" Sonic and the others watched as Merhea waited for Maria to respond, unfortunately...

"Huh...?" sweat beaded on Maria's forehead, "Who... Who is.. Who is Jamie...?"

Merhea looked at her with widened eyes and shock, tears the flowed endlessly as she yelled, "Big Sis, how could you?! How could you forget Jamie?! Don't tell me you forgot about Mrs. Salleanna and Mr. James, too!"

"Who...?" Maria placed her regular hand over her forehead.

"How could you forget them, Big Sis?!" Merhea pounded on her sister's chest, "I hate you, Big Sis! I hate you!"

Maria looked at her younger sister with shock on her face, but she didn't speak.

"_**I HATE YOU, BIG SIS!!**_" Merhea yelled as hard as she could.

Maria then suddenly pounded her crystalline hand on part of the grassy ground, leaving a small crater, in what seemed to be frustration.

"You were..." Maria began, "...Keeping this bottled up the entire time we've been here?" her eyes narrowed a little, "Is that what you wanted to let out on me this whole time?" Merhea still had that tearful angry look on her face, but instantly changed when Maria then said something with a somewhat sad smile, "...I see..." Still having the faint smile, Maria slowly stood up and walked back inside of the Soleanna Castle, ignoring Sonic and the others as she passed by them.

"Maria...!" Sonic tried to stop her, but something prevented him from doing so. A few moments went by before he turned on Merhea, "You..." everyone looked at him before... "_**YOU IDIOT!!**_" Sonic had officially snapped...

"_**?!**_" Everyone, with surprised looks, looked at Sonic, who was glaring at Merhea, who also had a shocked look on her face.

"Merhea, you're such an idiot!" Sonic yelled as he grabbed her shoulders, "Do you have any idea how Maria feels?!"

"No, but-..." Merhea muttered before she was cut off by Sonic.

"That's because Maria didn't want you to feel the same pain that she's been feeling!" Sonic said angrily, "If you really want to be together with your sister again, then _you_ go to her!"

"But... Big Sis promised-..."

"There are times where even _I_ can't keep promises," Sonic said, "Maria's suffering from the same thing, and having a hard time, if not losing her memory, makes it even worse. Look Merhea, you're the only family that Maria has in this world now. And after what you've said to her... I bet that she was expecting it from you. After all, what idiot would abandon their younger sibling?"

"Then... Why did Big Sis...?"

"You're the only person Maria can rely on right now," Sonic pointed out as he had his finger near Merhea's face, "She's been looking after you, and now _you_ need to do the same thing."

"...Unh..." Merhea seemed to be on the brink of tears as she slightly hung her head down.

"Hey," Merhea looked up as she saw Sonic point at the direction Maria went, "Go after her."

"...Uh..." Merhea just stood there, unsure what to think.

"What are you waiting for? _MOVE IT!_" Sonic snapped again.

"Yes, sir! Yes, Sonic!" Merhea said hastily as she ran off after her sister.

"... ... ... ... ..." Sonic muttered something to himself.

"...What made you snap like that Sonic?" Vanilla asked with a surprised look still in her eyes, "I've never seen you that upset."

"Huh?" Sonic then looked as if his mind went blank, "Uh... I don't know what came over me, actually. Hahaha... ha..." he laughed nervously afterwards before realizing something. _Oh man, I didn't even intend to yell at her... but... I hope I didn't go too far_...

...

I silently watched the city of Soleanna from the balcony, with the small crater I made still on the left side of the entranceway, not that I cared anyway. Heh heh heh...

I really don't know why I can't remember this person named Jamie, or a Mrs. Salleanna, or a Mr. James person, but... Somehow... those names sound familiar... I gave out a sigh of content... Wait... why am I blushing a little at the mention of this person named Jamie? Was he someone I met in school? Oh well, hopefully I'll be able to figure it out soon. Part of me regretted about the fact that I sang the _Lullaby of Weeping_ or _Lacrimosa_, I guess I just can't stop crying now in my mind. I guess Merhea is right, after all, people don't often cry in front of her younger siblings, much less a parent crying when a child is around. I slightly smiled a laughed a little to myself as I thought about this irony.

"Big Sis..." I didn't move as I heard Merhea's voice, instead...

"Now that I think about it..." I said as I heard Merhea giving out a questioning sound, "We didn't get to play that song we usually use to officially proclaim someone as our friend," it was then I turned at Merhea, who had dried tracks of salty tears that went down her face, "We never officially marked Sonic and the others as our friends, did we?" I smiled a little at this.

"Uh..." Maria still had a blank look on her face, until she suddenly beamed, "You mean you still remember it?!"

"Yeah, I still do," I said before I shrugged, "Though I don't know how long I will."

"Then..." Merhea took out both her ocarina, along with my own (where the heck did she keep them?) out of the pockets on her hoodie, "...Do you want to play it... now? Before you forget?"

"Eh..." I put some thought into it, "All right, I guess we can."

"Hmm..." Merhea gave a small nod of happiness as she tossed me my own ocarina, which I caught easily with my regular right hand.

"Heh..." I smirked at Merhea a little before looking at my arms, even though my left hand is crystallized, at least I can still play it with my regular right. I placed my lips against the mouth piece and began to blow a few notes with my eyes closed. I then opened my left eye (since I can only wink with my right eye, dang it), and noticed Sonic and the others (including Elise for some reason, not that I mind), I guess they must've overheard us. Heh heh... Not that it really matters, I wanted them to hear it anyways.

...

Sonic listened to the beautiful notes that were harmoniously flowing along, as did all the others present. It began slowly with a few long, low-pitched notes, before progressing on with slightly higher, more soothing notes. The song repeated a little afterwards, but it was wonderfully soothing. It wasn't like the song he heard back at the Mystic Ruins near Tails' workshop, but it was beautiful nonetheless. Sonic looked at his friends and saw them having content looks on their faces, as if they were receiving a blessing. Something then rang into Sonic's mind... _Are these...?_ He heard what seemed to be voices contained within the song...

_Kiss for the joined hands..._

_Love in-side the breathing air..._

_Long-- go-- the bonds---..._

_Never--- forget--- one in all..._

_Always---love them all for all..._

_Are these_... Sonic thought as he lightly touched the side of his forehead.... _the lyrics...?_ Sonic went back to reality as he heard the song beginning to quiet down almost abruptly. He noticed that Maria had stopped playing as Merhea played what seemed to be random notes, indicating that Maria does most of the notes.

"Big Sis?" Merhea stopped playing, "What's wrong? We didn't finish playing it yet."

Maria's eyes widened as she slowly pulled the ocarina away from her face with a shaking hand, "What...? How...?"

"Maria?" Sonic said her name, having a bad feeling.

"I..." she dropped the ocarina she was holding, which fell to the stony ground as a heart-breaking crack appeared over the holes, "I can't remember the song anymore!"

"What!?" Merhea was shocked, "That can't be, we were just playing it!"

Everyone in the room gave Maria worried looks, who then looked at her cracked ocarina. Sonic, thinking about those lyrics he heard in his ears earlier...

"Merhea," Sonic began.

"Huh? Um... yes?" Merhea still had an uneasy look on her face.

"Did that song... have any lyrics?" Sonic asked uneasily.

"Uh-huh," Merhea nodded, "Big Sis is the one who made it up. I think the lyrics goes as 'Kiss for the joined hands...' ..."

As Merhea continued saying the lyrics while singing a little, Sonic thought in disbelief. _This is impossible_... Sonic thought. _Just as soon as I heard the lyrics in my ears... Maria just happened to... forget them?!_ Thoughts swirled into Sonic's mind again. _How could Maria forget something she was so familiar with so quickly? This just doesn't make any sense..._

"Well..." Sonic then shifted his attention as he and the others heard Maria speak with the cracked ocarina in her hand, "I guess the show's over... Heh heh... That's too bad..." she placed her crystalline hand over her forehead as she gave out an empty grin, "And I don't think we were even able to get to Part Two of the lyrics... It's funny, I know that the song of all the friendships we made has a second part, and I can't even remember it. Ha ha ha..."

Merhea looked at her sister, who still had that unconvincing grin on her face. Sonic was right, Merhea had no idea how Maria had felt at all. Because almost everyday, ever since she started living with her almost two years ago, Maria would always have that brave and strong being within her, and Merhea would always smile at that and not give it a second thought. Merhea had almost never seen Maria cry over anything other than her monthly visit to her parents' gravestones, along with her crying in relief that Merhea was safe and sound whenever they get separated for a long period of time. But she had never... ever... seen Maria cry for any other matter.

"Big Sis?" Merhea looked up at her sister.

"Hm?" Maria looked down at her, "Do you need something?" To her surprise (and everyone else's), Merhea hugged her sister's crystalline legs, "Huh? Hey..." Maria had a confused look, "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry..." Merhea muttered.

"What are you sorry about?" Maria asked as she raised an eyebrow, "You were just frustrated, right?"

"Yeah, but... Sonic's right," Merhea muttered again, "You need me just as much as I need you. After all..." Merhea then looked up at Maria, "We have each other, nothing else, right?"

"Hmph..." Maria gave out a small smirk as she kneeled down to Merhea, "You got that right, I guess I do need you in this matter after all. Hmm hmm!" Maria laughed a little for a moment, "Now that I think about, back at home, we'd always take out our fights on the video games we played, didn't we?"

"Like that game called... Uh..." Merhea asked as she tilted her head while trying to remember, "Something about Melee...?"

"Oh, I _totally_ clobbered you in Cruel Melee," Maria grinned.

"Hey! You know I stink at that!"

As Maria continued to tease her little sister, Sonic and the others looked on with a bit of relief.

"Well Sonic," Vanilla said as she continued to watch the Robotnik sisters teasing each other, "Looks like they're back together as normal sisters again."

"Yeah, you're right," Sonic nodded in response, "They had quite a lot of tension going on, eh?"

"You got that right," Vanilla nodded in response.

It was then Merhea remembered something, "Hey, Miss Vanilla..." she began, "When are we going back to your house? I mean, we already found Big Sis and Sonic."

"Along with the fact that we destroyed the Golem that kidnapped you guys," the nearly forgotten Amy said.

"Oh, right!" Elise realized, "I almost forgot! The Chaos Emerald that I promised to give you!" she then took the green Emerald out of the hip pouch that stealthily blended in with her dress, and handed it out to Sonic, "I wanted to give this to Maria, but she wanted me to give you the Emerald instead."

"Thank you," Sonic said as he gently took the Emerald from Elise's hand, "This will prove helpful," he then took out the dark blue Emerald from his quills, "Now we and Eggman each have two now as far as we know, which a total of four," he then turned towards the others, "That just means that there are three more."

_Or rather... two more... Hee hee heeeeeee_...

"Huh?" Sonic looked around for a moment, "Did any of you guys say something?"

"Uh... no?" Maria shrugged as she tilted her head to one side.

_Must be hearing things_... Sonic thought, "Never mind. Now let's get the Tornado running so we can go on home!"

"Okay!" Everyone but Maria and Elise said in response.

Maria then looked at Elise, "Elise?"

"Yes?" the princess of Soleanna said, expecting something for Maria to say.

"Thanks for all your help," Maria smiled and bowed a little, "And tell your doctors thanks for saving Sonic's life."

"I'll do that," Elise bowed back in response, "If you need anything, feel free to come back here."

"I'll think about it," Maria nodded before realizing something, "Oh right, I forgot to ask...

"Yes?"

"Do you have any ginger?"

...

"Okay, is everyone all set for launch?"

"All set, Tails!"

I watched Sonic, who was standing on the tail of the Tornado, giving Tails the 'Okay' signal. I looked around the Tornado again and saw Sonic then jump onto the right wing, since there wasn't enough room for him to be in here comfortably (not that minded, anyway). Tails, obviously, is sitting in the pilot's seat. While I was sitting right behind him with Merhea on my lap (on top of a thick blanket, of course), Vanilla was sitting behind me with Cream and Cheese in her lap. I looked up and saw Amy on the left wing, I guess Amy has officially become desperate enough to use any method of getting closer to Sonic, but... Wouldn't this be a little too uh... extreme? Oh forget it, I've seen Amy do other desperate methods in other parts of the media, so this is probably nothing to her. We've already said good-bye to Elise and the Duke, who still inside the castle doing some other royal business of some sort. Not that it mattered to me anyway...

"Okay guys!" Tails then cranked up the Tornado's engine, "Everyone, hold on tight!"

The Tornado began to hum as the Tornado sprang to life, shortly afterwards...

We've officially left Soleanna, the City of Water...

"Ugh... Big Sis..." Merhea muttered after a few minutes of flying.

"Alright, more ginger for you," I said as I gave her a piece.

"Oh..." Merhea groaned, "You know I hate this stuff, Big Sis..."

"Would you rather throw up?" I said.

"Uh, no... ...Okay, fine... Gimme that..." Merhea grumbled a little as she ate the slightly bitter-tasting root.

...

Elise talked with her father about royal business until...

"Hold on! Nanny didn't have a birthmark!"

...

**End of the Fourteenth Crystal**

...

**Authoress' Notes:** That's right, folks, the Soleanna arc is officially over. Six Crystals in all! How about that?! Oh, by the way. If you were wondering why Maria said that the "Nanny Archer" had a birthmark, she actually _**lied**_. The reason why I'm telling you this now is because Maria has already forgotten about the Nanny Archer, and the stupid trick she used to reveal the Golem.

Oh yeah, and C'est un Monde Mervielleux's question involving the "burnt card," that will answered in the Fifteenth Crystal. So you'll have to wait until March, sorry.

**References:** The phrase "_Maria no Komari Uta_" literally means "_Maria's Lullaby_" in Japanese, Maria actually has multiple lullabies (mostly ones that she made up). However, the one Maria used is called "_Lacrimosa_," meaning "_weeping_" in Latin. You could go to YouTube and look up "Lala's Lullaby" and hear the actual thing. You see, I'm also a fan of Man by Katsura Hoshino, so most of my ideas have originated from there (such as Maria's crystallized arm). You can also look up the lyrics of "_Lacrimosa_" (along with the actual lyrics it was from.

_Jamie Bon Kudo_ is a character yet to be seen, you'll find who he is later on.

The lyrics that appeared in Sonic's mind was the one I made up, it's titled "Joined Hands." Which is also the title of this Crystal, though I'll admit freely that it's also part of a rejected poem I did for Literature class during my sophomore year... Ugh...

In terms of motion sickness, you can prevent it if you eat a certain kind of ginger. I never tried it (even though I _actually_ _do_ get motion sick), but there's been multiple reports on its effectiveness. For those of you who are usually motion sick, give it a try, it might help.

Okay, uh... if you like the story, leave a review! I'd love to see it. Afterall, everyone's a critic! (Or _are_ they...?)


	15. En Garde, Who! ? Wrath of the Ice!

I thank C'est Un Monde De Merveilleux, Llirbwerdnavidad, Namless Daydreamer, and Thrash the Hedgehog (long live the bunnies?) for reviewing. Thanks guys!

Anyways, as your reward for being patient (like always), you get to read the next Crystal! ...Why is it that I'm usually uploading Crystals around the same day when someone leaves a review on a previous Crystal? Oh well, it's probably a coincidence.

Okay, uh... October Autumn had added RotCG to his/her Story Alert List (without leaving a review, meh), and Thrash the Hedgehog has added me and RotCG into his Favorite Author/Story list.

Oh yeah, there's a small Easter Egg in this Crystal (you need to know about the comic series of Sonic in order to spot it), think you can find it?

Anyways, enjoy!

...

**The Fifteenth Crystal: En Garde, Who?! Wrath of the Ice!**

...

"Well, we're finally home!"

"Yeah, you are. But not us."

"Uh, sorry..."

I sighed after Tails apologized, since I really can't blame him about the fact that all of us have managed to head back to Tails workshop. I didn't think that we'd be staying in Soleanna for two days, because if it hadn't been for that Puppet Golem that I was somehow able to destroy, we would've probably been able to come back here yesterday.

I then heard Tails turn off the Tornado's engine once we were inside of the hangar before he opened the cockpit we were in (except Sonic and Amy, for they were on the wings). I waited for Tails to jump out first while I made Merhea climb out slowly. Of course, I had to get out slowly, since I didn't want any of my crystalline features to damage the Tornado in any way. I heard the sounds of both Sonic and Amy jumping off the Tornado's wings as I helped Vanilla get Cream and Cheese out. Of course, once again, I had to be careful not to hurt Cream with my crystalline arm. Vanilla, who was the last passenger aboard, managed to climb out on her own, though I helped her keep her balance as she did so.

"Ugh..." Merhea still looked a little sick even after she got out of the biplane.

"You feeling okay, Merhea?" I asked with a little concern.

"I'm fine..." Merhea groaned, "Once I get some water, that is."

"Here," Tails gave her a small bottle of cool water (where did he get that, anyway?).

"Thanks," Merhea said as she already started drinking it down.

"Well," all of us turned to Sonic, who was stretching his limbs, "Let's say we go out and get something to eat fro lunch, I'm starving!" Ugh... Food _again_... I don't want to eat if my stomach can't accept it, which will make me throw up in the process. Ugh...

"Yeah! It'll be roman-..."

"How about chili dogs, pizza or something like that? Sounds good?" Sonic suggested, ignoring Amy as she had an irritated look on her face.

"I'm in," Tails said, "I'm not that used to the royal cooking anyway."

"Can we get some ice cream afterwards?" Cream asked as Cheese squeaked in excitement.

"Yeah, some of that, too!" Sonic smiled as he rubbed Cream's head before he realized something, "Oh wait... I forgot..."

"What is it?" Vanilla asked as she noticed the somewhat saddened look on his face.

"Maria won't be..." Sonic trailed off. Oh man... I guess he remembered that I couldn't eat or feel hunger anymore, and with the fact that I can't eat, I won't be able to join them in having any kind of delicacy.

"It's all right," I sighed, waving my right hand, "You guys go on ahead, I'll just stay here if I need to."

"Um... How about we get take out or something instead?" Sonic shrugged, avoiding the subject that I can't eat food anymore, since he knew that I didn't want anyone else to worry about me too much, "I mean, Maria still has those crystalline features on her, and they're bound to catch anyone's eye. If anyone sees her like this, who knows what they'll do?"

"In other words," I sighed again as I shrugged and shook my head, "I can't go back to Station Square, meaning that I also can't go back to Vanilla and Cream's house, either. Until I can find a way to get rid of these features at will, I think I'll be stuck like this for a while."

"That is a problem..." Sonic crossed his arms, "Now what do we do?"

"..." I didn't say anything for a moment as I watched Sonic and the others (included Merhea as she was still drinking slowly) ponder, "Um... I can stay here, you know."

"We're not leaving you behind," Sonic said as he somewhat glared at me as I blinked a little in surprise. Hold on... I don't recall Sonic acting like that in the games, so why is he like that? Then again... he's also been acting like the way I was whenever I become serious in front of my friends.

"Uh...?" Wait... how did I act around my friends again?

"Maria?" Sonic then gave a concerned look before he blanked out for a moment (at least that's what I think it was), he then shook his head, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I shook my head a little to get rid of the "dizziness" out of my head, "Just felt a little dizzy for a moment," I then insisted, "But really, I can stay here. I'll be fine, I promise."

"I told you that we're leaving you behind," Sonic glared at me again.

"What's the harm?" Vanilla asked, "We all know that Maria can't go back to my house, What's wrong with leaving her here?"

"I'm worried that she might go on another rampage again!" Sonic said as we also realized, "We don't know where the next Chaos Emerald is! We all know that Maria reacts to the energy radiating from the Chaos Emeralds, even though she'll get used to them after a while. But if there's too much Chaos energy, she'll go on another rampage!"

"That's true..." Vanilla pondered.

"That's gives me all the better reason I should stay here," I said, "I don't want to hurt anyone, and going on a rampage in Station Square is the one of the many things I don't want on my list."

"...!" I noticed that Sonic had a look of frustrated realization on his face since he bit his lower lip. He went into thought for a moment before saying, "Fine, but I'm staying here as well."

"He's got a point," Tails said, "After all, of all the times Maria went on on of those rampages, Sonic was the one who was able to stop her."

"But he always gets hurt in the process!" Amy said somewhat angrily, "I don't want Sonic to go through any of that! You remember the times that Maria had bitten him! After all..." she then gave me a small glare before glaring at the others, "I'm not going to let Sonic turn into a monster!"

That became my breaking point, as it made my head pound like crazy. Amy's right, I don't want to get Sonic hurt either, even if it means helping me. Plus, I don't want my rampaging self to feed on his blood again. Even though it could restore my somewhat withered skin (despite the fact that it's slowly healing on its own), I don't want Sonic to die from blood loss, either. As Sonic and the others continued arguing as Merhea and I watched... I couldn't take it anymore...

...No one noticed as Merhea and I slipped out from the workshop... After sneaking out, I could still hear Sonic, Amy (possibly everyone) still arguing about what to do.

"Are you sure that was a good idea, Big Sis?" Merhea asked, still holding her half-full water bottle, "I mean..." she looked at me sadly, "Did Amy... just call you a monster...?"

"For getting out, yes, definitely," I said as we walked a little ways out from the workshop, "For now, anything's better than us hearing that useless squabbling, especially if it involves me. As for what Amy said..." I paused for a moment, "I have no idea, but part of me thinks that she did."

Merhea didn't say anything for a moment, "You leave people that are arguing if it involves you?"

"For a while, yeah," I shrugged, "I mean, I don't like it if it involves me."

"Like the times whenever Scarlet often argues with our friends about which one between you and her are better?" Merhea asked as she raised a finger while speaking.

"Wait, Scarlet?" my mind blanked out for a moment before remembering, "Oh right, I remember her... That annoying blondie-girl who just won't leave me alone during gym class..."

Scarlet Hawkinson, ugh... Why must Merhea remind me of her? Just so you know, Scarlet is basically my rival in almost everything in school. She also has so many things in common with me that it's not even funny, heck, we even share the same birthday! (Of course, Scarlet doesn't know that, I'm even eleven hours older than her. Heh heh heh...) She basically has the same height (and weight) that I have, and we're both equally athletic, only I'm _slightly_ faster and stronger. She also has hair just as long as mine, only it's blonde with a touch of red-brown hair mixed in. For reasons unknown, Scarlet had developed a rivalry with me. I mean, what the heck? Then again, since she has blonde hair, I guess she can be portrayed as one of those so-called "stereotypical dumb blondes." And ironically, I don't even go with those somewhat insulting sayings. Scarlet has a tendency to wear green jeans, along with a white shirt with short green sleeves. Besides her blonde hair, her most notable piece of clothing is her black leather rider jacket with a large flame print on the sleeves (starting from the shoulder). If I were to compare a Sonic character from any media to her, I'd say that Scarlet's counterpart in any media would be... Hmm... Which one? Oh right, _**Scourge the Hedgehog**_ from the _Archie Comics_, he's perfect (I think Scourge is one of Scarlet's favorite fictional characters, see how much she looks like him?!). Even though I've never read the comics, thank you, Internet!

Oh yeah, Scourge the Hedgehog... In case anyone also doesn't know, Scourge is a character exclusive in the _Archie Comics_. He's basically an evil alter ego of Sonic from another world or "Zone" as they call it (if I remember correctly, he was called either Anti Sonic or Evil Sonic during that time). I remember that he had the same color scheme as Sonic, until he somehow absorbed some energy from the Master Emerald, causing him to have green fur and blue eyes. He also has scars on his chest resembling the Roman Numeral two (it looks like "II"), due to Locke (Knuckles' father from the comics) hitting Evil Sonic with a Chaos-infused punch. Heh heh, when I first saw that crazy hedgehog of a villain, I thought Scourge was just a stupid recolor of Sonic that some crazy kid made. Until I found out that he was a character in the comics, I was like "Well, how about that?!" It's too bad that we weren't in that world/Zone of Mobius with Scarlet, that way if she ever met Scourge in person, seeing their reactions to each other would've been _perfect_.

"Yep, that's the one," Merhea nodded as she drank a little more of her water. She then turned to the workshop as we both could still hear Sonic and the others arguing, "Do you think they would've noticed us being gone by now?"

"Nah," I said waving my crystalline hand, "I think it would be better if we just stand there and laugh at the randomness that suddenly occurred."

...

"Hmph!"

Knuckles continued to climb and navigate the ruins that was near Soleanna, after Maria was able to defeat the Puppet Golem, he was able to retrieve the Master Emerald shard that was buried in its remains shortly after Sonic passed out due to Maria biting him. Even though Knuckles was still worried about what will become of them, but knowing Sonic and Maria, they can pull through.

Not too long ago, Knuckles was able to find a third Master Emerald shard that was lodged into a tree (how it got there he had no idea), much to his enjoyment. Even though it was becoming harder for him to find the shards, all of the hard work is worth it. Not only that, at least it gave Knuckles some of the experience he might need in case another one of those rock-like Golems show up, especially the ones that could create poison. As far from what Knuckles has seen, Maria is currently the only one so far who can remove the poison from a victim by biting that person. However, biting that person also means making him or her pass out in the process due to blood loss. It was then Knuckles was able to climb up the top of the ruins, which was basically a large worn-out square piece of flooring, possibly around ten square feet. He looked into the horizon and saw Soleanna far into the distance. About an hour ago, he saw what seemed to be the Tornado before he started climbing. This lifted him from some of is worries, now that he doesn't have to worry about Sonic or Maria as much.

_**KRA-KOOM!**_

"Huh?" Knuckles looked into the opposite direction and saw three familiar figures fighting... "There's more of them?!" True enough, there were more Golems, only this time they were the weak Pewter ones. He then took a closer look at the three figures that were there, he was able to make out one being purple, one green with a patch of yellow, and the other black and yellow. Who were they? Guess... "It's the Chaotix! ...Man..."

For some reason, Knuckles finds the Chaotix very odd. Well... he didn't mind Espio the Chameleon, who was the purple reptile ninja with a white-yellow horn on his face, usually takes his missions seriously. The smallest figure, the black and yellow one, turned out to be Charmy Bee, who is the youngest and usually the goofiest one out of the three. While the largest figure, the green and yellow one, Vector the Crocodile, is the leader. Vector does take his missions seriously as well, except he gets distracted very easily. Vector is well known for wearing the gold chain necklace, especially the headphones he constantly wears. Basically, the main reason Knuckles finds the Chaotix odd (except Espio), is because they tend to goof off whenever they sidetrack... which happens often, and his obnoxious personality boost that to the extreme.

"Might as well help them," Knuckles shrugged to himself before he jumped and glided down the ruins he spent many minutes climbing. He was then able to land onto a fairly steep yet flat piece of land as he continued to fun forward, with the speed he was able to pick up from the steep cliff, he was able to ram one of the Pewter Golems away from what seemed to be Vector the Crocodile.

"Whoa!!" The Chaotix yelped as they saw Knuckles landing near them.

"Everyone okay?" Knuckles asked as he scanned and quickly counted four more Pewter Golems from different directions.

"We're fine," Espio the Chameleon said as he took out another one of his explosive shurikens, "These things just keep coming!"

"Have any of these creeps excrete any thick liquid from themselves?" Knuckles said as he threw a large piece of rock at one of the Pewter Golems.

"There was one," Vector answered as he slapped away a Golem that came too close, "It ran away from us not too long ago, we're trying to find it!"

"And crush it to a grinding piece of rubble!" Charmy said excitedly as he gave out a somewhat powerful kick to the Golem that Vector had hit earlier.

"...Ignore him," Espio said as he threw the explosive shuriken he was carrying at another Pewter Golem, which blew off its left arm. Before Espio could silently celebrate, he saw a thick red liquid coming out from its arm, "There's more of that stuff! Since when can those things do that?!"

"Whatever you do, don't touch it!" Knuckles warned as he punched the Golem that Vector and Charmy were hitting against the one that Espio had attacked. However, this proved futile, since the Golem that was oozing poison easily grabbed its so-called comrade. It then did something unexpected... "What?!"

The Golem ate its rocky "comrade" with stony teeth within seconds...

"Oh no..." Espio shivered as did the other Chaotix (even Charmy, which is odd), "Everyone, take cover! I think it's evolving!!"

"What?!" Knuckles exclaimed as everyone ran to take cover, the other two Golems (who had done nothing for some reason) just stood there as the other one slowly morphed. Cracks began to appear over its body as a thick red to purple-black liquid began to emerge from itself.

"... ... ..." it mumbled unintelligible words as its arms began to change shape as they continued to crack with the liquid coming out from it, it wasn't until about half a minute until it was consumed by its own poisonous liquid. Knuckles and the Chaotix kept a close eye on it as the poison seemed to have hardened into a cocoon of sorts.

"Think we should destroy it?" Charmy asked, who was unusually scared.

"Yes," Espio nodded as he took out yet a few more explosive shurikens from somewhere, "We can't let that thing roam free."

"Agreed," Knuckles said as he picked up a nearby boulder, before he could throw it however.

"Watch out!" Vector grabbed his teammates and Knuckles as they avoided what seemed to be a large tentacle that emerged from the Golem's resting spot, which showed the cocoon having cracks all over it.

"What's it doing now?!" Espio looked at it with widened eyes. They watched as the tentacle continued to move, what surprised them was that it actually smashed the other two Golems that were standing... as if they expected it...

"What...?" Knuckles looked at the remains in amazement, "Just... what are these things...?"

"_**EEE HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE HAA HAA HAA HAA HAA HAA HAA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!**_"

"!!" Knuckles felt a chill go down his spine, "It can't be! Another Puppet Golem?!"

"Puppet Golem?" Vector asked, "You mean we're about to go up against a doll?!"

"I guess you could put it that way..." Knuckles took a deep breath as readied himself, "Get ready..." The Chaotix did as they were told as they kept their guard up.

"_**EEE HEE HEE...**_" a child-like voice rang throughout the fields, "I am a Golem of Clowns..." a large hand, shaped like a clown's, then emerged at the cocoon itself shattered into nothing, revealing something that resembled a clown or a joker. Its black and white head looked like it wore the classic three branched cap with stone balls at the tips. It looked like it wire a matching clown outfit with a black and white skirt-like piece of clothing, its large feet were just as large as its own hands with clawed ends. It then spoke, "_**Thank you... for nurturing me...**_" it then gave a shrill laugh of malicious joy, "_**EEE HEE HEE!! I've gone up a rank! I've leveled up! I've gone up!!**_"

"So it did evolve..." Knuckles silently cursed to himself, "Blast it, it's gonna be even harder to beat."

"So now what do we do?!" Charmy panicked as he tried to keep calm, "That thing's scary!"

"We're just gonna have to destroy it," Knuckles said, "Be careful, it's capable of killing now that it most likely has even more deadly poison."

"Agreed," Espio said as he checked his surroundings, "I don't see any more of those other rock monsters, I think this... Clown... is the only one here. Of course, they could be hiding."

"There... isn't any..."

"Who goes there?!" Knuckles and Vector quickly turned behind then as Espio poised himself to throw a kunai while Charmy hid behind Vector.

"It's... only me," the mysterious person that suddenly appeared had a blue cloak that covered his entire self, hood and all. His face is barely visible, since his shoulder-length slightly dark brown hair covered most of it, making only part of the left side of his pale-colored face visible, "I've... already checked this place. That... Clown Golem is the only one left."

"Who are you?" Knuckles glared at the person, who was almost twice his height, clearly showing that he was a human.

"I'm... not able to say," he said regretfully as he tugged on his hood with a brown glove, "However, if I help you defeat that Clown..." the young man then gently bowed a little, "Will you trust me enough into exchanging some information afterwards?"

"...Fine," Knuckles said reluctantly, before charging at the Golem, "LET'S GO!!"

The Chaotix and the young man charged behind them, which allowed Espio to see that he had slightly dark brown pants with slightly light blue shoe-like boots. He also had a slim build, judging from that, Espio guessed that this young man doesn't eat much. He also noticed that the young man had a hazel blue-green eye glittering furiously, showing that he too wanted the Clown Golem to be destroyed. But that didn't matter right now, for Espio instantly cleared the thoughts out from his minds as he threw at the Clown Golem that was just standing there, laughing with with its own insanity. Espio reacted first by throwing a shuriken, which exploded as soon as it hit it right arm. While this proved to be of no use, Vector and Knuckles lifted up boulders they were lying nearby and threw them at the Clown, only for it to smash the boulders into bits.

"_**OOH HOO HOO HOOOOOOO!!**_" the Clown seemed to have just noticed them, "_**Have you come to play with me?**_" it then spread out its two arms insanely, "_**This will be so much fun! We will play until one of us dies!!**_"

"Be careful," the young man said as his blue cloak fluttered a little in the weak wind, "Attacking from a distance is not enough to destroy it, you need to attack it at close range."

"In other words, melee attacks, am I right?" Espio glared at him.

"That is correct, therefore..." with a swish from his cloak, which revealed him also wearing a brown shirt with a blue sweater over it, he pulled out what seemed to be a scabbard, "This... is what the path has given me. I will do what it takes to get _them_ back..." he then drew out a slightly long sword out as before pointing it at the Clown Golem, who looked at the sword in curiosity, "Now confess... where are they? Where are your so-called 'targets'?"

"Targets?" Knuckles and Espio asked themselves, what did the young man mean by "targets"?

"_**EEE HEE HEE...**_" it laughed sheepishly as it scowled, "_**How should I know? They've left the city that had almost nothing but water all around. That lady already destroyed many of our useless brethren.**_"

"Lady?" Knuckles muttered to himself, "Could that mean...?"

"So there _is_ someone else other than me that can destroy you freaks," the young man hissed, "Now tell me, where are they? Your targets?" he said the last part more like a comment than a question.

"_**Like I should tell you!**_" the Clown Golem laughed with insanity as it threw what seemed to be a giant ball for juggling at him. However, the young man dodged it with ease before somehow being able to slash its right arm clean off as poisonous blood slowly began to flow, "_**Hm? What is this?**_" the Clown looked at its wound curiously, "_**Is this what you call a wound?**_"

"Yes... but..." he then slashed off its legs just as easily, "I would call _this_ amputating instead... After all, clowns like you cannot regenerate your limbs."

"_**Oh, right! I remember now!!**_" it stretched its neck toward him, "_**You must be one of those warriors from the land of Other!**_"

"Other? Hmm..." the young man thought for a moment, "I guess... you could put it that way. Well..." he raised his sword at the Clown before speaking, "Since you won't tell me where _they_ are..."

He cleanly swiped off the Clown Golem's head from its body, killing it...

"...I'll just wipe you out..." he muttered as the Clown Golem faded into nothing, "How pathetic..." he then turned to Knuckles, "If that thing... killed you four, it would've become a terrible beast."

"He took it out so easily..." Knuckles muttered as he and the others (except Charmy who had gone hysterical about killer clowns) kept their eyes on this young man, "Just... who are you?"

"I will tell you my name later," he said as he reached into a pocket on his pants, taking out a familiar green shard.

"A piece of the Master Emerald!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"Is that what this is called?" he asked, "I see... Tell you what, you seem to know something about the people I'm looking for. If you tell me everything you know, I will give you this, for this has no use for me."

"What is it that you're after?" Espio asked.

"My... friends have gone missing," the young said as he took off his hood, which revealed him to be a boy of around fifteen to sixteen years of age, "I've been searching for them for about two or three days now... I don't know who their targets are, but I want to try and protect those two while I'm searching for my friends..." he then took out something else from his pocket, revealing it to be a photo, "Have you seen these two?"

...

We were still sitting near the edge of the cliff (near the end of the runway for the Tornado), minding our own business outside while Sonic and the others continued discussing/arguing about what to do, since it's getting complicated for me to move around freely. Not as in physical movement, but being able to move around others. Not that I minded anyway, since I usually don't like to walk around in the public that has a large amount of people anyway. I thank whoever or whatever that is out there (possibly luck) that Merhea and I didn't end up in the anime _Sonic X_, otherwise, we would've been attacked by GUN almost _endlessly_. That aside...

"Hey Merhea," I asked as I looked at the burnt card that Merhea handed me to inspect.

"Yeah?" Merhea looked up, "Do you know what that is? Vanilla gave me that before we left this place to find you and Sonic."

"Yeah, I know what it is," I said, "But any idea how the _heck_ my _driver's license_ got all burned up like this?"

"Isn't that the thing that allows you to drive cars?"

"Yes, it's illegal to drive without them."

"Oh."

I guess that Sonic and the others tried to find out who I was since they took out my driver's license, but since it was burned except for part of my picture (how it got burned I have no idea), they had to wait for me to wake up in order to tell them who I was when I first met them. The tiny photo had me as my regular sixteen-year-old self. I sighed, I longed to change back into my regular self. These crystals are becoming bit a hassle for me, due to my left arm being so bulky, it cold bump into anything and break something. However, there's nothing I can do about it right now. The only bright side I can think of is that since my right eye is still crystallized (red iris, black cross-shaped pupil and sclera and all), I can still see clearly without my glasses, pity that both of them _broke_. I know for sure that once I'm somehow able to _**de**_crystallize myself, I am _so_ going to need those glasses again.

"How long have we been out here?" Merhea asked.

Since I lost my trusty analog watch long (and I mean _**long**_) ago, I simply shrugged, "I don't know, ten minutes, maybe?"

"I see... Big Sis?"

"Yes?"

"Do you... want to play another song?" Merhea said as she took out both of our ocarinas, with mine still cracked.

"...No..." I shook my head as I sighed, "I don't I'll even be able to remember them... I'm sorry..."

"It's okay..." Merhea also sighed, "I'm just glad you still remember me..."

"Hey," I patted her back with my regular right arm, which seemed to have knocked a bit of wind out of her, which also made me withdraw my hand, "Oh, sorry!"

"It's okay," Merhea said as she regained her breath, "What were you saying?"

"No matter what, as long as you're around..." this time I gently wrapped my arm around her, "...I will _never_ forget you. You're my sister, and I _can't_ forget about you."

"I hope so," Merhea said as she leaned against my side, "I don't want to lose you..."

"It'll be fine," I said as I took a deep breath, I then grinned and winked at her, "I promise."

"That's good," Merhea was still leaning against my side as she held on to my arm.

I didn't say anything else, since I let Merhea have the last word. I continued to watch the beautiful horizon, the pure ocean water, the afternoon sun, the seagulls... it was perfect. I watched the seagulls flying around as they sometimes dive into the water to snatch fish for their food. It's a little saddening to see the fish die like that, but that's how the cycle grows. The plants become food for herbivores, while herbivores become food for carnivores; once the carnivore die, they decompose and become nutrients for the plants, and the cycle keeps going. I don't know about humans, but this fits for animals like the fish and seagulls. That biology lesson aside, Merhea and I somewhat laughed as we saw two seagulls fighting over a dead fish that was floating in the water.

"There you girls are! Where've you been?"

Both Merhea and I looked behind us and saw Sonic, Vanilla, and the others.

"Hmph..." I turned my attention back to the horizon as I saw Amy.

"Are you okay, Maria?" Amy asked.

"...I'm fine," I stood up and walked away from her.

"Hey," I heard Sonic speak as he gently grabbed my right arm.

"Leave me alone!" I quickly snatched my arm away, much to Sonic's surprise.

"Hey, wait..." Sonic became confused, "What's wrong with you?"

"Ask Pinky Girl if you want an answer for that one," I said irritably, "Afterall, you don't want to turn into a _monster_ like _me_ now, do you? Hmph..." I gave out a small huff as I ran off... at supersonic speed.

"Big Sis! Wait!"

Although I deeply regretted it, for the first time... I ignored Merhea...

I continued to run, through the forest, the jungle, the ruins (the one where I think Tikal and her tribe used to be), through a cave, and eventually into an icy like area covered in trees, stone... and snow... I then skidded to a stop (somehow harmlessly with my bare crystallized feet) as I was awed at the sight of snow again, for I haven't seen any snow since the day Merhea and I got ourselves into this world.

"Whoo..." I shivered a little, not out of the cold, but from the sight of this snowy ice cap. It was then I just realized that I can't even feel anything unless it's severe, like times when I was constantly thrown against the castle when I went up against that Puppet Golem in Soleanna. I looked at my feet, even though I didn't have my shoes on (I think they're still on the Tornado, but I don't care right now), I wasn't able to feel the cold that could've consumed my feet. It was then I also noticed something... Why is it that my feet seems to be sinking a little into the ground? Wait a minute... my feet are sinking down about two inches! I was able to notice this because I accidently stepped on the root of a tree nearby, and the edge uprooted a little... Huh... I guess the ground that's here seems to be pretty soft, so I guess that makes sense...

"Maria?"

I turned and saw Sonic being the only one who followed me after I ran off. He had a concerned look on his face, not that I can blame him, for he's basically the only one (besides Shadow, I think) who can keep up with me as I run.

"What's wrong? Why did you run off like that?" Sonic asked, still in concern before he realized, "Did one of us..." his small pointy ears then drooped a little, "...say something that made you upset?"

I didn't say anything as I looked away, for I didn't want to take out my small anger on Sonic, since he never did anything to make me upset at all. I have to admit that I'm still a little upset at Amy, since she called me a monster ever since I bit Sonic (albeit unwillingly) twice in Soleanna. I know that when I bit him the first time, Sonic told me that it had saved his life, but why did I bite him the second time? That I never understood...

"Hey," I noticed that Sonic gently grabbed my right hand, "What happened?"

"...I don't want to talk about it right now..." I sighed, "I just... don't want to get anyone hurt."

"Is it because of what Amy said?"

I tensed...

"I hit the nail in the head, did I?"

"Yeah..." I gently pulled my arm away this time, "She's right though... I don't want you to turn into this... thing, either," I looked at Sonic again, "I mean..." I then looked at my hands, "Maybe I am a monster..."

"For the last time, you are _not_ a monster," Sonic said to me a bit seriously, "If you were a monster, would I be here, standing and talking to you right now?"

"Well... no, but..." I was a loss for words, which don't fail me often.

"That proves it," I looked at Sonic again, "If you were a monster, you would've killed me the first time we met," he then gently touched my crystalline arm, "Besides, you're a caring person. And no person like you deserves to die. I promise that I'll find a way to get your memories back, even if I have to go to your world in order to do so."

Oh geez... if Sonic gets into my world and finds out that he and his friends are video game characters in my world, I don't know how to explain it to him... Either it could cause a paradox that could destroy all the universes that are there or... or... _Oh, screw it_... How many times are worlds supposed to end anyway? Bah... Despite all that, I just simply said, "Thanks... I think."

"It's cool," Sonic said with a thumbs up before I glared at him, since we _are_ inside a _cold_ place, with _snow_, "Uh... Pun not intended."

"Okay," I sighed as I spoke with an even tone, before I felt... "_**Hrk...?!**_"

Yet another painful thump welled into my chest...

"Maria?!" Sonic gave a somewhat frightened and concerned look, "Don't tell me you're...!"

"Grrrrh...!" I gripped my chest with my right hand as I tried to resist it. Oh no... this is bad... Come on... I can't lose control of myself... not in front of Sonic... He'll get hurt!

"Is this the same reaction you were getting back at Soleanna?!" Sonic asked, hoping that I could control myself, "Come on, Maria! You have to fight it!" I quickly nodded at his first question before ignoring what he said next, for I had to... try and keep control of myself... What are these throbbing feelings that keep welling up into my heart and chest?! Why is it trying so hard to take control of my body?!

Oh no...

"_**RUWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!**_"

...

"Are you saying that there was another person who could turn into crystal those two decades ago?"

"Apparently so, but the weird thing, although unconfirmed completely, is that it was also a human female around the same age as Maria Robotnik. Come on, we need to find a Chaos Emerald in order to complete the mission."

Shadow was stunned as he read the info that Rouge managed to get a hold of about two hours ago, and that was what he said afterwards.

"Any idea where a Chaos Emerald may be?" Shadow asked back into the present, for he and Rouge were near the edges of a familiar ice cap, on top of a high cliff to be exact.

"The Commander told me that the intelligence team has detected one somewhere in this ice cap," Rouge said, "If we can find it, we'll be not only completing our mission, but we'll also be one step closer into destroying that Golem nest."

"Agreed," Shadow nodded, "However, we cannot tell GUN about Maria's existence, it could put her in more danger than she already is."

"Very well," Rouge smiled as she poised herself to take flight, "Now let's-...!"

"_**RUWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!**_"

"...-go...?" Rouge then looked the cliff they were standing on, as did Shadow, it was then they saw... "It's Sonic! But..." they both noticed Sonic looking back occasionally as he ran, "What is he up to?"

"I think we have our answer," Shadow's eyes narrowed as he saw Maria Robotnik, on yet another crystalline rampage... He didn't say anything for a moment until, "We have to stop her."

"As much as I don't want to, but I'll help anyway since she's your friend," Rouge said, flying down as Shadow quickly followed downwards the steep cliff.

"Sonic!" Shadow shouted as Sonic quickly turned his head to him and Rouge before shifting his attention back to Maria, "This way!!" Sonic quickly did what he was told as he ran towards Shadow and Rouge with the rampaging Maria following. Shadow and Rouge were then able to get a good look on Maria, and were horrified at the sight of the features she has now.

Maria's body was almost completely crystallized, including her right arm, which was usually not. Her left arm was bulky as it always was, but it was almost twice a large and about eight feet long (even longer due to the claws), odd considering her five-foot-four-inch frame. Her right arm maintained its usual size, however, a row of small spines were jutting out from it. Her legs were crystallized completely, just like her arm, only they maintained her usual height, and they showed no evidence of her having normal feet with visible toes, only three short and wide claws jutted out from the front of her feet. Her back had those spikes jutting from the back of her shoulders, and they looked dangerous to come close to. Maria's hair had the bottom half crystalline blue like it always was, but her face also had more features. Her eyes had black cross-shaped pupils and sclera, with her right eye being a crimson red and her left being a menacing violet. Instead of the right side of her face being crystallized, the upper half of her face was covered in a crystalline mask with her eyes exposed. Her fangs looked as if they grew longer a bit, with smaller one being exposed as she let out a gaping roar...

"What... has she become...?" Shadow almost trembled at the sight of the way Maria has turned into right now, but he quickly shook it off a he led both Sonic and Rouge into what seemed to be a giant empty snow field.

"This is perfect, guys!" Sonic seemed relieved, "With all those boulders and trees out of the way, Maria won't be able to attack us with them!" Sonic then looked as if he realized something, then he suddenly shouted, "Hold on! Isn't this the Icy Lake?!"

"The ice here is about two feet thick! And it's really dense!" Rouge said, "It won't crack that easily!"

"I don't care how thick it is!" Sonic yelled irritably, "I'm only concerned about the amount of _**weight**_ this ice can hold!"

"...Weight?" Rouge's ears twitched.

"Did either of you two see her footsteps before you guys spotted me?" Sonic said as he saw Maria in a feral-like pose as she bared her fangs.

"No," Shadow shook his head as he kept his guard up.

"They sank down a pretty great deal," Sonic kept his eye on the transformed Maria, "I noticed this after I managed to chase and get to her in this area."

"Meaning?" Rouge asked.

"Despite her size..." Sonic's eyes narrowed, "...she weighs quite a lot, I think it's because of the crystals on her body. In other words..." he turned to the GUN agents, "Her insides have crystallized too, making her body really dense. Normal attacks won't work on her."

"You did your homework?" Rouge had an eye twitching, "That's new coming from you."

"Trust me, Rouge," Sonic said as he turned his attention back to Maria, "I know a lot more than you think," then he blanked out for a moment before muttering to himself, "Wait... How did I know this?"

"Forget that! Here she comes!!" Shadow yelled furiously as the trio jumped away to avoid Maria's gigantic left claw, causing her to miss, digging into part of the ice. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to make the really dense ice crack.

Maria roared again (how it didn't cause any avalanches Sonic and the others had no idea, but they didn't care anyway due to the mountains being so far away) as she charged at Rouge at such a frenzy and barely missed her wings with her claws. As Rouge dodged away she charged at Sonic with incredible speed, on the way there however, she sidestepped and ran past him. Sonic, confused, saw Maria was actually charging at Shadow instead, who was able to barely dodge the spines on Maria's right arm.

_Why did she run past me?_ Sonic asked himself. _What is she up to now? Unless_... It was then he may have realized something. However, he didn't have time to think about it right now due to both Shadow and Rouge being in trouble, for they were constantly cornered by the slashes that Maria was doing. Sonic then saw Maria about to do a thrust grab with her left arm, "Oh no!" ..._If I'm right_... Sonic then ran as fast as he could before placing himself in front of Shadow and Rouge as he faced Maria's charging attack with open arms, as if he was making a feeble attempt of defending them. He then saw...

...that Maria stopped, with the claws just a centimeter away from his face...

_I knew it!_ Sonic panted a little in tension. _For some reason she won't attack me!_ "Maria, stop this! Please!"

Maria let out a growl, but she withdrew her arm and stood there. However, she showed the stance of getting ready to attack again.

"You have to fight it, Maria!" Sonic urged her as he quickly restrained the use of her left arm, which was useless since she somewhat lifted her arm with ease as she growled, "Don't lose your mind! What about your promise to Merhea?! Don't harm them! They had nothing to do with this!!" That part seemed to have pierced into Maria's mind, for she stopped growling and relaxed her limbs, as if she was _willingly _obeying_ him_...However, she was still covered in crystalline features. She breathed in deeply as warm clouds of breath came coming out of her fanged mouth as she bared her fangs.

"She stopped..." Rouge gave out a sigh of relief, "That was too close."

"Agreed," Shadow nodded in response.

"Are you okay?" Sonic gently touched Maria's head, "Can't you say something?"

"Grr..." she let out a hoarse growl until, with widened eyes... "GLK...!" red specks came flying out of her mouth and into the ice...

"Blood again..." Sonic's eyes narrowed sympathetically as the sight of her coughing blood, "Come on, you need to stop coughing..."

_**CRACK!**_

Everyone froze except for Maria, who was oblivious to the sounds.

"Oh no..." Sonic muttered as he looked down before... "Guys! We've got to get off the ice! It's cracking open! It can't support Maria's weight!"

"Even ice this thick can't support such weight?!" Rouge said to no one in particular as she took flight in order to get to where they entered the lake from, "But the records show that the ice could hold up to three tons!"

"Looks like Maria's dense form weighs more than that, though!!" Sonic answered somewhat frantically as both hedgehogs followed Rouge, before he realized that Maria was not following them, for she was still standing on the same spot where she was earlier.

"Hey!" Sonic yelled at her, "Maria! Get over here, quickly!!" Maria obeyed, for she started charging at the trio. However, this made it worse.

"She's making the ice crack open even more!" Shadow exclaimed as he and the others saw the cracks coming to them at an even faster pace before saying, "If we can make it to the edge before she does, she should be able to get there as well before it cracks all the way!"

"Got it!" Rouge nodded.

Sonic smirked, "This will be a snap! Since we're almost there!" They were almost there before... "Good grief!!" The ice in front of them cracked open, causing the giant fragment of ice to rise up like a tower due to the weight on one side. Unfortunately, the hedgehogs were standing on the edge of the single-story tall tilting piece!

"UWAH!!" Sonic yelped as he clung on to the edges of the rising part with one hand and Shadow with the other, "Hey, Rouge! Where are you?!" Unfortunately once again, the roaring of the scraping ice and icy cold water drowned out the sound of his voice.

"_**GRUWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!**_" a familiar roar pierced into Sonic and Shadow's ears as they looked down and saw the icy water below them before seeing Maria grabbing on the right side of the shattering ice, ignoring the cracks that were appearing below her feet. She looked up and saw the hedgehogs clinging onto the edge of the icy top. With ease, she jumped up to the top and grabbed Shadow with her longer left arm.

"Get him out of the lake!" Sonic commanded. Once again, Maria obeyed, but not in the way he expected since she threw Shadow at Rouge, who managed to catch him by the arms.

"I actually thought she was going to kill me there," Shadow muttered to himself.

Meanwhile Sonic kept holding onto the edge of the giant slab of ice, however, he didn't know how much longer he could hold on, though. For he was beginning to feel a stinging pain seeping into his fingers due to the ice, things were beginning to get worse for him too. Because of Maria being on the top of the giant slab of ice Sonic was clinging on to, her massive amount of weight caused the slab to sink into the water at a fast pace. Fortunately, however, Maria quickly grabbed Sonic's shivering frame with her left hand before jumping off.

"T-t-t-thanks..." Sonic shivered, but what Maria did was a careless mistake...

"GEH?!" Maria bared out her fangs in surprise as the ice below her feet cracked as soon as she landed. Putting Sonic to his feet gently, she dug her claws into a nearby ice slab, "GRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!" she grunted as she tried to pull it towards her, but the giant icy slab from earlier has other plans, for it came crashing down towards them!

"AH?!" Sonic, who was still a little chilled to the bone, "Come on! Move!" Sonic struggled to move his feet, but somehow they were frozen against the ice due to some of the water being there.

"GRRH!!" Sonic heard Maria's roar as he saw her left crystalline hand cover his entire frame as her claws dug below his feet.

"BOTH OF YOU! HURRY!!" Rouge yelled as she was then able to get Shadow out from the icy area of the lake, unfortunately, it was too late...

For the giant slab of ice crushed then into the icy waters below...

"MARIA!!" Shadow called out her name.

"SONIC!!" Rouge yelled out.

...

The feeling of paralyzing cold swept Sonic's entire body as he held his breath, it was then he noticed that Maria was able to break the ice that stopped him to his tracks. He looked down and saw Maria slowly sinking into the depths of the lake.

_Maria!_ Sonic wanted to cry out her name, but since he was underwater, he had to hold his breath. Speaking of water, he hated going into the water all his heart, for he was never able to swim. More than once, whenever Amy goes to a beach or something, she always asked Sonic if he could learn how to swim and go scuba diving with her or something. But due to a slight amount of aquaphobia (the fear of water), and not being able to swim no matter what, Sonic always fled from the beach whenever that happens. He quickly shoved it out of his mind as he looked up and tried to find a way out to the surface. Unfortunately, all of the ice was blocking the way to the surface.

"MUGH!" Sonic's chest began begging for air, but he was well aware that he can't breathe underwater. Not only that, there aren't any air bubbles coming out from the bottom. _Got to_... _hold_ _on_... Sonic continued trying to hold his breath... until he lost all feeling over his body...

His body went limp as he couldn't remember anything else...

...

**(End of the Fifteenth Crystal)**

...

**Authoress' Notes:** Who is the mysterious young man that was able to destroy the Clown Golem? You'll find out who he is eventually. And guess who will appear in the next Crystal! (Here's a hint: Even though he appeared in more than three games, he was voiced by three different people in each of those three games he's had in a speaking role so far in the English versions.)

I've always wanted to use the Chaotix, they're some of my favorite characters, since they're so hilarious!

And yes, the burnt card that was in the Third Crystal turned out to be Maria's driver's license. Heh heh, I love making Maria frustrated whenever something simple like that happens. Whenever I type her words in _italics_, she says them with more feeling in it.

**References:** So were you able to find the Easter Egg? If you didn't, don't worry. I'll tell you when the Sixteenth Crystal comes.

Never underestimate the laws of physics people, did you think I put weightless crystals on Maria? Yeah right...

So tell me what you think! Read and Review!


	16. Those Crazy Sensors

I thank Llirbwerdnavidad (you're really into the Christmas Boy thing, aren't you? Haha!), C'est Un Monde Merveilleux (you're close about the Easter Egg, since it **_is_** related to Scourge), and our newest reviewer Liunt (what did you think the Easter Egg was?)

And of course, Liunt had added RotCG into his/her favorites.

Happy Late Easter, you pesky bunnies! Ya see this, Thrash? I'm talking to you, the bunnies shall never succeed in taking over the Internet! WAH HA HA HA! ...Okay, I'm kidding, but play with me here, okay?

Onward towards my lucky number! I love the number Sixteen!

**Edit:** Crud, made a stupid Chemistry error, it was actually "Hydrogen Oxide" not "Hydrogen **Di**oxide"! Thanks for pointing that out, Christmas Boy!

...

**The Sixteenth Crystal: Those Crazy Sensors...**

...

"...Why? Why is Big Sis acting like this?!"

"Merhea, it'll be okay. Calm down..."

"_How can I calm down after what Big Sis just did?!_" Cream was taken aback by Merhea's sudden outburst, as did Cheese. Merhea, who realized that she yelled at Cream's face, "I'm sorry..." Merhea sighed as she slumped, "It's just that... it's been a bad day for all of us, and Big Sis is always getting hurt..."

"We understand," Cream said as Cheese nodded and chirped, "It's not your fault," it was then Vanilla then kneeled next to Cream facing Merhea as she placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Sonic's with her, I'm sure he'll calm her down," Tails tried to reassure as Amy said nothing.

"I know, but..." Merhea was about to say something until...

"_**HEY!!**_"

Merhea and the others were cut off as they saw the familiar red and black hedgehog they knew all too well.

"Shadow?" Tails blinked in surprise, as did the others except Merhea, who slightly moved back in order to get out of Shadow's way.

"Huh... huh... There's... been a problem..." Shadow tried to catch his breath as he spoke, "At the Icy Lake...!"

"What happened?" Tails asked.

"Sonic... and Maria..." it was then Shadow was able to speak properly, "Both of them have sunken below the ice!"

"_**What?!?!**_" everyone yelled in shock as Merhea just stood there, with a sad and shocked expression on her face.

"You're lying... right?" Merhea shook as she asked.

"No," Shadow shook his head as he explained what happened as quick as he could, afterwards, "Rouge is still back at the lake, but I don't think she'll be able to survive water that cold," he turned to Tails, "Don't you have something that could go underwater?"

"No, but..." Tails trailed off before...

"Then find a way!" Amy yelled as she took out her Piko Piko Hammer for no apparent reason.

...

"_Hey! Merhea! Aunt Emilia! Uncle Thomas! I'm home!_"

"_Welcome home, darling! Thomas! Merhea! Maria's home!_"

"_Oh really?_"

"_Big Sis!_"

Sonic opened his eyes as he heard the voices, two of them were familiar, but not the other two. He found himself lying on a sofa of some sort, whatever it was made of, it was pretty comfortable in his opinion. However, he quickly sat up... "Wait..." Sonic looked at himself, "Weren't we in the water...? Uhuhuhuh..." Shivers went through Sonic's body as he wrapped his arms around himself. Even though he was... wherever he was, he could feel the stinging cold pressing against his body.

He turned his head and saw Maria, happily talking with an old couple and a little girl. The old woman had pale white and wrinkly skin with silver-gray hair tied to a bun, she was fairly shorter than Maria, for she slumped a little against her cane. She wore a white shirt with a long purple skirt, a typical senior citizen's outfit. Sonic took that one to be Emilia. He then looked at the old man, whom Sonic guessed to be Thomas. He was a bit taller than Maria, but not by much. He had slightly darker skin than Emilia, but he had the same wrinkly skin. His gray-white hair was not shown much, due to most of his head being bald. He wore brown slacks and a brown plaid shirt, his thick glasses can easily be seen on his face, and he looked just as happy into seeing Maria coming home.

"Are they...?" Sonic began...

"How was school, dear?" the old woman asked.

"It was fine," Maria said, slightly embarrassed before turning to Merhea, "Hey girl. Ya miss me?"

"Yes!" Sonic noticed that Merhea had a white shirt with a yellow-orange back with short sleeves, along with dark blue jeans and red shoes with white tips and laces.

"She's... a lot like Tails..." Sonic muttered as he then noticed that Maria still had her "Sonic outfit" on, meaning... "This took place after school during that time... in Soleanna?" Sonic shuddered at the thought, "Just... _what_ is going on?"

"Don't worry," Sonic shifted his attention back to the family as he saw Maria speak, "The Kindergarden building's almost finished, you'll be able to go back to school next week, all right?"

"Okay!" Merhea said happily.

Sonic watched Maria talk with her family a bit more before the old couple ended the conversation as they went to the living room in order to watch something on the television, however, he saw Maria and Merhea going upstairs nearby. Trying to ignore the cold that was seeping into his body, Sonic followed as quickly as possible without any noise.

"Oh, right...!" Sonic mentally slapped himself, "No one can see me..."

He continued to follow the two girls up the stair way until they reached the top, which wasn't that long as Maria opened a door. Merhea quickly went in as Maria went in herself, closing the door behind them. Sonic, remembering his previous encounter in Maria's memories, extended his hand against the door... it went _through_. Armed with that knowledge, Sonic walked through as he became somewhat awed at their bedroom.

The room wasn't that big, as Sonic had noticed, but it was big enough for two or three people to walk around comfortably. Two beds were next to each other by two feet apart, one had blue and black covers while the other had yellow-orange and white. A small desk with a flat screen computer were on the other side of the room next to the window, which had a blackout curtain. The walls were painted a _slightly_ light regular blue, while the ceiling was a pearl white. A small light located on the middle of the ceiling provided all the light the room needed, and a somewhat bright one at that. Between the two beds against the wall, was a small night stand with two small lamps side by side that are usually used during the middle of the night. On the the walls were a few frames with pictures inside them, but they all contained finished drawings, possibly ones that Maria did judging by the style.

"Hoo..." Sonic noticed Maria place her backpack against the floor before letting herself fall on her bed as she sighed, "Man, I'm beat..."

"Another day of same old?" Merhea asked as she took out a thin black book from Maria's backpack, "More Spanish?"

"Si, Merhea," Maria nodded with a Spanish accent, then spoke again with her regular voice, "I'll work on it later, pass me my Algebra stuff, will you?"

"Here you go," Merhea then gave her sister a magenta swirled covered book and a blue binder.

"Thanks," Maria then laid on her stomach as she opened both books, "Okay, page 279... numbers 5 through 29, odd..."

"How can you understand that stuff?" Merhea asked after looking at the algebra questions, as did Sonic, who also couldn't understand most of it.

"Don't worry," Maria waved her hand as she mused, "You'll understand all of this when you're older. Besides, I'm in Eleventh Grade, and you'll be there as well in the next ten years."

"That'll take forever!" Merhea's cheeks puffed a little.

"Oh, come on now, it's not _that_ long," Maria said in amusement, "I still remember being in Kindergarden as if it was yesterday."

"Really?" Merhea had a somewhat suspicious look on her face, "But I thought you're forgetful..."

"At times, yes," the older sister said as she wrote down an answer on her pice of notebook paper, showing Sonic that she was left-handed.

Merhea looked at her sister as she seemed to be deep into thought while Maria continued doing her homework, Sonic did wonder what Merhea was thinking about, but since he's no crazy mind reader, all he could do is hope that Merhea would _just say something_.

"...Big Sis?" Merhea suddenly spoke, which caused Sonic's ears to perk up.

"Hm?" Maria raised an eyebrow as she turned to her younger sister, "What?"

"Do you..." Merhea hesitated for a moment before saying, "...remember the time you went to the fair with Jamie a few months ago?"

"Ugh... Merhea, how many times do I have to say this?" Maria had an annoyed look on her face, "I told you before that I did _not_ go out to the fair with him! I mean, sure, he is my friend and all, but what keeps giving you that idea, anyway?"

"Um..." Merhea twiddled her thumbs, "I mean... how's your head feeling?"

"Huh?" Maria gave her a look as her eye twitched a little before touching her head, "Now that I think about it, it's becoming hard for me to remember things lately... and my head hurts every time I try to do so," she then looked at Merhea, "Why you ask?"

"Um..." Merhea seemed a little frantic, "I don't know... they wouldn't tell me..."

"Who wouldn't tell you what?" now Maria was getting a little confused, as did Sonic, who looked at both sisters in concern.

"Um... never mind..." Merhea shook her head as she gave up.

"Uh... okay..." Maria didn't say anything else before she started working on her Algebra homework again, but not before giving a few glances at her sister.

_Come to think of it_... Sonic thought. _Merhea _did_ mention Maria suffering a major blow to the head... Wouldn't it have her in a comatose state? No wait... Merhea already mentioned that she was out for a week, which means around seven days at most... Man... if only if I could find a way to access her memories at will... And... just _who_ is Jamie?_

The world suddenly went dark...

"Heh heh..." Sonic laughed a little as sweat beaded on the side of head, still ignoring the nearly forgotten cold as best as he could, "Looks like time is on our side..."

_**TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...!**_

"Where am I being taken to this time?" Sonic asked himself as images swirled so much it became a blur, "Hopefully something that could at _least_ give me a clue..." He went to reality and saw that the ticking had stopped, and that he was transported to another location. However, this time he recognized the place, which had a familiar hallway full of lockers, "Hey, we're in that school again..." He turned and saw the same number from before, "...Locker Number 141..." were the words that barely escaped his lips.

"Okey dokey..." Sonic turned and saw Maria speak those words as she took a deep breath, still wearing the "Sonic clothes" (though they looked like they were recently washed), before going to her locker, "Combination... Yep..." Maria kept muttering random words as she sorted out her books and binders, "Okay!" she then suddenly cheered up, "Onward to Third Period!" she said to herself, "I wonder what grade I got on my History Test?"

_This took place the next day...?_ Sonic questioned, but he didn't have time to think over it now, since he had to follow her into yet another crowd of students. Thankfully, since he still had the ability to walk through certain things, following Maria wasn't that much of a hassle. Another fortunate thing was that Maria's outfit was completely eye-catching for him, which allowed him to follow her even more easily. As Sonic kept his eye out for Maria, he noticed a lot of other people with strange clothing, from Gothic clothing to frilly clothing on the girls, and a different type of Gothic to formal clothing on the boys; he also spotted average tomboyish clothing on some girls, and average clothes on some boys as well.

"I have to admit, everyone here's got an interesting sense of fashion," Sonic mused before he saw Maria going into a room with the number 232 printed next to the entrance, written below it was... "U.S. History and Constitution?" Sonic read with a eyebrow raised, "I wonder what U.S. stands for?"

"Oh, M-Maria!" Sonic and Maria turned and saw...

...

"Ooooooh... What do I do...?"

Rouge kept trying to think of a way into the ice as she flew over the Icy Lake, unfortunately, all she could see was the really thick ice that were covered with the claw marks that Maria left on them. As strange as it was, all the ice covered all ways of getting in. In fact... Rouge wasn't even sure of Sonic and Maria still being alive...

"I know that Sonic's buddies aren't going to be happy about this..." Rouge said as she landed. She quickly scanned the area she was in, and noticed that she was back at the start of her flying point, where Shadow had left her in order to get help. Rouge silently cursed to herself, it's already been ten minutes since Sonic and Maria had sunken into the lake. She then heard a rustling noise, but ignored it. However, the rustling came again almost instantly, causing Rouge to lift her guard.

"All right," Rouge said as she prepared to attack, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

"LIFEFORM DETECTED," a robotic voice rang out, "IDENTIFIED LIFEFORM: ROUGE THE BAT."

"Wait..." Rouge's eyes widened as her ears flicked in realization, "Omega?"

"AFFIRMATIVE," the figure/robot revealed itself to be a large bulky red and black robot. His almost long arms was about a foot away from the ground, while his hydraulic legs hissed as he moved his black legs with a few red trimmings. Around his "wrists" were painted yellow-gold with a few gray-silver spikes wrapped around. A small portion of yellow was located at the top of his head, with small red robotic eyes were seen peering from it, "YOU REQUEST MY IDENTIFICATION. I AM INDEED E-123 OMEGA."

"...What are you doing here?" Rouge's wings wilted a little in surprise, before saying with a bored look on her face, "I thought you were hunting down Eggman... again."

"UNIDENTIFIED POWER SOURCE WAS SPOTTED IN THIS AREA," Omega explained, "INVESTIGATION WAS REQUIRED TO SEE IF IT WAS A THREAT."

"Power source?" Rouge asked.

"POWER SOURCE WAS CONTINUOUSLY MOVING, SENSORS INDICATE THAT IT HAS FALLEN INTO ICY LAKE," Omega turned to said lake, "ONE LIFEFORM WAS DETECTED ALONG WITH SOURCE."

"Wait..." Rouge then went into realization, "Then that means that you've detected Sonic and Maria!" she pointed at the lake, "They've sunken deep below the ice," she then turned back to the large robot, "Think you can find a way to save them?"

"NEGATIVE. HYDROGEN OXIDE, ALSO KNOWN AS WATER, HAS TEMPERATURES TOO LOW FOR HYDRAULICS TO WITHSTAND," Omega said, "PROPER EQUIPMENT DESIGNED FOR SUCH TEMPERATURES NEEDED."

"Great..." Rouge gritted her teeth a little, "We don't even have equipment like that," she then heard a beeping noise coming from Omega, as if he had detected something, "Omega?"

"MULTIPLE LIFEFORMS DETECTED IN THE VICINITY," Omega said as he pointed towards the direction where Shadow had left, "FOUR LIFEFORMS CONFIRMED, ONE HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG IS APPROACHING."

Rouge looked again and saw a familiar blue vehicle following the familiar red and black hedgehog, "Shadow, you're back!"

"Indeed I am," Shadow said before spotting the robot, "When did Omega come here?"

"Shortly before you did," Rouge said before noticing Merhea, who was wearing the same winter clothes Rouge and Shadow had seen when they first discovered her, "Hey, what's the kid doing here?"

"We tried to tell her to stay behind," Tails said as he poked his head out from the Tornado's vehicle form, "...but she insisted on coming."

"I don't want to wait!" Merhea said with a determined look as she held onto the dark blue Chaos Emerald, "I want to help Big Sis!"

"TINY HUMAN CHILD HAS GONE MAD," Omega said while pointing at her, "CURRENT WEATHER IS NOT BEST FOR HUMAN CHILDREN."

"My name is Merhea you big bucket of bolts!" Merhea said with her eyebrows twitching.

"VERY WELL MERHEA YOU BIG BUCKET OF BOLTS," Omega said.

"It's _Merhea_!" Merhea yelled in frustration.

"Her name is Merhea, Omega," Shadow said calmly, since Merhea's attempt of making Omega listen became pointless, "Remember it."

"VERY WELL," Omega spoke before... "FROG DETECTED IN THE VICINITY."

"..." Rouge stared at the robot.

"..." Shadow stared at the crazy robot.

"..." Tails stared at the crazy robot named Omega.

"..." Amy stared at the really crazy robot named Omega.

"..." Merhea stared at the tiny brown frog that the big bucket of bolts detected before it croaked and hopped away, "...Those crazy sensors..." she mumbled to herself.

"Uh... Why is he acting like this?" Rouge tilted her ears in annoyance.

"We'll worry about that later," Shadow said, "Our mission of obtaining the Chaos Emerald in this area will have to wait, saving Sonic and Maria are top priority."

"Exactly!" Amy said before she pulled her hammer for no apparent reason.

"With the modifications I've put on the Tornado," Tails said before, "It should be able to go underwater for about thirty minutes. It can also carry up to five people, meaning that only three out of the six of us can go and find them."

"You mean four," Shadow corrected, "Maria's become too heavy for even the thick ice on the lake to withstand, the Tornado won't stand a chance."

"Huh?" Merhea looked around, "Why is there...?"

"What is it?" Shadow asked as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Isn't that a cave?" Merhea asked as she pointed at a hole of some sort, "Doesn't that thing go below the lake?"

"ANALYZING..." Omega scanned the small cave, "SUBJECT IDENTIFIED. SOURCES SHOW THAT THIS CAVE DOES LEAD DIRECTLY BELOW ICY LAKE."

"Can you still detect where Sonic and Maria could be?" Rouge asked.

"LIFEFORM THAT HAS SUNKEN INTO LAKE HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS SONIC THE HEDGEHOG," Omega answered, "DATA ON "MARIA" IS UNAVAILABLE."

"Maria Robotnik is a human," Shadow said, not showing the worried feeling he had.

"NO HUMAN HAS BEEN DETECTED, ONLY SONIC THE HEDGEHOG AND POWER SOURCE."

...

"Um... so... what did you think about my story?"

"It was really good, I loved it!"

Sonic watched as Maria happily talked with a boy a few inches taller than her. He wore a thick blue slightly baggy shirt-like sweater with a thick and baggy neck, which matched well with his brown pants and blue and white sneakers. His left blue-green eye was clearly visible, and his brown hair with black streaks almost reached down to his shoulders, but it also covered most of the right side of his face. It wasn't until the boy scratched the right side of his face that Sonic saw why, for there were bandages wrapped around his head, covering his right eye and ear...

"Is that...?" Sonic remembered the features Merhea had described back in Soleanna...

"Anyways, Jamie..." Maria said, causing Sonic to cut off his own question, "How are your parents doing?"

"My dad's doing great..." the boy named Jamie said as his face turned red a little, "Thanks to you, um... my mom's survived."

"Aw, it was nothin'! Maria said as both she and Jamie went to their desks, which had her sitting on the front left desk of the room with Jamie behind her, "It was the least I could do since you and your parents were so nice to me when we first became friends."

"I know, but..." Jamie looked a little flustered in excitement, "If it hadn't been for you, my great-grandfather's latest will for his estate would have never been discovered and... Mom would've died from her cancer..."

"Hey," Maria said with a confident look on her face, "After witnessing what all of your relatives, excluding your parents, have been rejecting you like a piece of trash, you and family deserved the money from that estate. Especially since you guys didn't have much money anyway."

"Still... thank you," Jamie said again.

"No pro-..." Maria stopped short due to the bell ringing with many sounds of "_**BOON!**_" going across the school, she then quickly turned to Jamie, "We'll talk later during lunch, okay?"

"Sure," Jamie nodded before taking a book out from his brown backpack.

"So he's Jamie..." Sonic grinned a little in satisfaction before having a questioning look at him, for he looked at the bandages around his right eye and ear again, "Wonder what happened to his face?"

"And here are the test scores!" Sonic turned and saw a tall man somewhere in his fifties handing out papers.

Maria took hers and grinned in satisfaction while Sonic looked at the score written on it, which was a ninety-seven out of one hundred, seeing that Maria only got one question wrong. As for Jamie, he also had a satisfied grin on his face. However, he had a ninety-three, as Sonic noticed that Jamie only got three wrong. Looking at the other students, Sonic noticed Lulubell on the other side of the room. He quickly looked at her test score... and saw that it was a seventy-five.

"Phew..." he heard Lulubell sigh, "Barely passed it..."

"Guess she's not good at history," Sonic shrugged in amusement before the room went pitch black, "Uh?!" Random noises flowed through his mind, but he wasn't able to make out any of it due to them going so fast, which was unusual for him until the pitch-black darkness became quiet, "Where...?" Sonic was cut off after hearing a familiar whimpering cry.

"_**Unnnnnn...?**_"

"Was that... HUCHPK...?!" Sonic then suddenly felt the urge to vomit, and he felt that his lungs had suddenly become full of water, and his body was shivering from the piercing cold from earlier. He saw a black hand gently push him against the wall (that is, if there _is_ one) on his back... before thrusting itself against his stomach...

...

"_UHUH!_"

Sonic coughed out water as he felt a hard hand press against his stomach, he kept on coughing as water continued to fly out from his mouth. After all of the coughing ceased, Sonic was able to breathe in the precious air.

"Hoo..." he sighed as he continued taking in deep breaths, "Okay... In... Out... In... Out... Hoo... Wait a minute..." Sonic then realized something, "Where am I, anyway? Brr..." he looked around as he shivered and saw that he was inside a small cave of crystalline _ice_, it was then he noticed that he was leaning against a large lump of crystal. He saw a small pool of water, judging from the ice around it being broken, someone may have broken through it. But then he remembered the hand... Looking around again, he found what seemed to be a crystalline ice-shaped arm, the same one that helped him get the water out from his lungs. Noticing that the arm was connected to the lump that he was leaning on, he realized in horror...

"...Maria?"

Sonic leaned away and saw her leaning her head on its right side in front of him, apparently, it was her right arm that allowed Sonic to cough out the water from earlier. Looking at her again, he saw that Maria had looked beyond recognition as she laid on her stomach. Her long hair no longer had any shade of brown, only the crystalline blue. Her legs were still crystallized like it was before, her right arm no longer had those threatening spines. Her back still had those slightly curved spikes jutting out from her back. The white sleeveless shirt and black shorts were still in good condition, although it _was_ pretty wet. Despite her clothing, Sonic could tell that her torso had crystallized all the way, for he could almost literally see though her white shirt, which revealed the infamous crystalline blue. The mask-like feature on her face was no longer there, instead, crystallized skin covered her entire face. Her mouth was covered by crystal shaped like a thick mask, the area where her eyes were had crystallized too. Both of her eyes had the horrifying black sclera in each of them, while her right eye still had the black cross-shaped pupil and red iris, strangely... her left eye was its usual gentle emerald green...

"...Son...ic...?"

"Oh... no..." Sonic shivered as he was sitting on ice, "Why did this have to happen to you?"

"You... o...kay?" she gently placed a claw from her right hand against the side of his face.

"...I'm fine," Sonic said, gently holding the claw, "What happened? Weren't we in the water?"

"I don't remember much," Maria gave out a sigh, "All I remember was me being in the water..." she paused before saying, "And I saw you not moving... I thought you were dead."

"Well, guess I'm not," Sonic laughed a little.

"Heh..." Maria gave out a sigh of content, "Good..." she saw Sonic shivering, "...What's... wrong...?"

"Nothing..." Sonic shivered. Sure, he could try running, but because he was in the cold water for so long (for how long he didn't know), all of the strength in his legs had been sapped away. He didn't want Maria to worry about him as he continued shivering. _I can't die here, I still have a promise to keep... Dang it, why must this cold stop me now? If I can just run, even a little to get warm, I just might be able to get us out of here_. Sonic jolted a little as he saw Maria's left arm lift itself up, and noticed that even though her left arm wasn't as long as it was earlier, probably shorter by about two feet, her hand was still as large as it was back at the lake. She moved her hand until it was really close to Sonic, which caused him to notice that it was able to cover almost his entire frame. Thankfully, Sonic was able to look at the bright side for this.

_It's_ _warm_... Sonic sighed in relief.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this," she muttered, "If only I had resisted these... urges just a little longer, then we probably wouldn't even be here."

"There was nothing you could do about it," Sonic gently placed his hand against her head, "It'll be okay, I promise."

"...All right," Maria sighed a little before chuckling to herself, "Heh heh, I wonder what Scarlet would be thinking if she ever saw me like this..."

"Scarlet?" Sonic raised an eyebrow as he rubbed his arms, "That a friend of yours?"

"Haha!" Maria laughed again, "No, she's actually one of my biggest rivals in school. If you think Shadow's your biggest rival, wait till you know about mine!"

"You seem awfully cheerful," Sonic blinked.

"No," Maria sighed again before having a grinning look in her eyes, "I just want to talk in any feeble attempts of getting over our continuous gloom."

"Even during such a time like this, you're always able to bring in a joke," Sonic shook his head amusingly, forgetting about the shivering pain in his legs for a moment.

"Heh, I try," Maria turned her head to the small pool, "Anyways..."

"Mind telling me more about this person named Scarlet?"

"Oh yeah," Maria blinked before chuckling, "Heh heh... Scarlet tends to be one of those "stereotypical dumb blondes", which is a term I don't normally use. If you were compare me and Scarlet in terms of appearance, you could say that we look really similar. Heck, we share the same interests in running, and we even have the same birthday!"

"If you have that much in common, how come she's your rival?" Sonic asked, relieved that Maria's able to remember something from her home world.

"That's the thing, I have no idea," she shrugged before raising a finger from her right hand after Sonic let go of it, "But! I didn't tell her, or anyone, except you, that I'm _eleven hours_ older than her."

"How do you know that?" Sonic questioned with an eyebrow raised.

"I accidently looked at her birth certificate, it only showed the time and data she was born, though."

"I see," Sonic then looked at the small pool of water again, "Do you remember how you got us in here?"

"After I grabbed you when we were underwater, I was getting desperate for a way out," Maria explained as she sighed, "But because of the ice above me, and the fact that I was too heavy to swim, I had to at least find a place for you to get some oxygen. When we both sunk to the bottom, I found this small cave, only to find out that it wasn't so small."

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked. as he continued embracing the warm from Maria's left crystallized hand.

"The place that were in right now is close to the entrance," she said, "That pool over there is actually a small cave opening that's located next to the entrance. I don't know if there are any of those Golem monsters roaming around, so I took us here in order to hide until you would wake up."

"How long was I out?"

"I dunno, uh... about five minutes before I got us here, I think? I forced the water out of you shortly after I brought us here."

"Well, still, thanks."

"Eh, don't mention it," Maria looked at the small exit disguised as a pool, "You ready to go?"

"Go?" Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"The other caves that are hidden here are above water, but below the lake, I think," Maria shrugged, "There's a lot of forked passages in there, I think we'll be able to find a way out if we take those paths."

"I see," Sonic said, looking at the exit again before saying, "I'm all warmed up for now, so I'm ready."

"All right," she slowly moved to her feet, then looked confidently at the exit, "Okay, Sonic, grab on," With that said, Sonic gently wrapped his hands around Maria's back, thankful that the spikes on her back gave him some additional support to cling on to. Allowing Sonic to take a few deep breaths, Maria then dove down the water. Eventually hitting the ground with her crystallized feet, she started moving forward.

_Ugh_... Sonic shivered a little as the piercing cold came through his body again. _Man, I hate this water!_

_**SPLASH!**_

"_YOW!!_" Sonic yelped as he was thrown up into the air for a bit while clinging onto Maria's back spikes, causing Maria to flinch.

"Sorry!" Maria had a somewhat frantic tone in her voice, "I had to jump in order to get out from the water! I think I overdid it...!"

"It's okay," Sonic sighed, relieved that he was out of the water so quickly, "I've been through worse, trust me."

"That's my line, _Skippy_," Maria smirked before running through random paths, with Sonic on her back.

"Hey!" Sonic had a laughing grin on his face until...

**...**

"Boy, I didn't think there would be a cave here, even I've come to the Ice Cap a lot before."

"Let's just hope that it could lead to them, Tails, I don't want my dear Sonic to drown!"

"FORK LOCATED UP AHEAD, SENSORS RECOMMEND THAT WE TAKE THE LEFT PASSAGE."

The caves that Merhea had discovered turned out to be bigger than anyone anticipated, except for Omega, of course, due to his sensors. However, they doubted that these caves could lead to Sonic or Maria, since they both sunk under the lake. Because of the many forks, Rouge would often tell Omega to use his sensors to pick up the passages.

"You heard him, boys," Rouge said before looking at Merhea and Amy, who had annoyed looks on their faces, "...and girls, we go that way," she then pointed at the left path.

"I'll go on ahead," Tails said as he rode on the Tornado in its walking mode, much like the time during the Space Colony Ark incident. Looking around carefully, he saw many icicles hanging dangerously above him and the others. Thankfully, the ice looked pretty solid,so it should be safe to walk around in the Tornado, and Omega hopefully, "I think the coast is clear guys!" Tails said, being careful not to make the echoes of his voice rattle the ice.

"COMMENT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED," Omega beeped before whizzing his head to another direction, "SENSORS DETECT SINGLE LIFE SIGN."

"How big?" Shadow asked as he looked ahead.

"LIFE SIGN IS SMALL, AND IT IS GROWING WEAKER," Omega said as he pointed ahead, "POWER SOURCE DETECTED MOVING AT HIGH SPEEDS ALONG WITH WEAK LIFE SIGN."

"Is it Sonic?!" Amy somewhat yelled worriedly.

"UNABLE TO CONFIRM."

"Well, confirm it, then!"

"...UNABLE TO CONFIRM."

"Sh!" Rouge's ear twitched as she silenced the squabble, "Do you guys hear something?"

"...I hear it, too," Shadow then poised for a battle, "It could be one of those rock monsters."

"You mean Golems," Merhea corrected.

"...You get what I mean," Shadow said, annoyed, before looking back at the cave where the sounds of ice scraping were coming from, "Keep your guard up."

"Hey, I hear voices..." Merhea trailed off as she listened.

"...ng ...n ...nic...!"

"That's... Big Sis's voice!" Merhea cried out, "I think she has Sonic with her!"

"Let's go then!" Amy ran ahead as did the others, including Tails in his mobile Tornado.

...

"Come on, Sonic, hang on!..."

Oh man, this is bad... He was fine just a moment ago... Shortly after we got out of the water, he seemed fine, but then he began shaking uncontrollably. After that he was still! Thankfully, I was able to feel a heartbeat, and a fast one at that, meaning that he's still alive. I then remembered something that one of the medical books at home used to say... what was it...?

"Oh no...!" I remembered what could wrong with Sonic, he's probably having hypothermia! "Come on, Sonic! Wake up!"

I gently tapped Sonic, who was still on my back. He was still breathing, but I don't know how long that could last. If I remember correctly, if Sonic does have hypothermia, he's probably near the last stage. I don't think he's even aware that I'm carrying him now, since hypothermia can lead to sluggish thinking. This is not good, if I don't find a place where I could keep Sonic warm, much less find something to build a fire with, he could freeze to death. I kept running through random caves left and right, a few of them led to dead ends, forcing to go back and take different paths. Of course, this was annoying. And of course, once again...

_WHY CAN'T I JUST LOOK AT A __**FREAKING**__ STRATEGY GUIDE HERE, DANG IT!!_

...Until I reminded myself that I'm not in some stupid video game that SEGA had made. Well... at least not a game like this, and I doubt they'll ever make such. After all of that blood (especially mine) that's been spilt, I am _one hundred percent sure_ that they will _never_ make a game like this. Nope, definitely _not_.

Moving on...

Great, another stupid cave. What's next, another cave that's more stupid than the previous? Let's hope not. Anyways... I gently lifted Sonic from my back with my large left crystallized hand and felt his chest with my smaller right hand, and I noticed that his heart rate's increasing. Not good, I know that Sonic's heart can beat pretty fast, but if it beats too fast, it could make his heart burst. In other words, Sonic will die if I don't do something...

I kept on moving as I cradled Sonic in my left hand, allowing me to check on his heartbeat whenever I get the chance. As I listened to Sonic's breathing, which was slowing down, I went down a different cave after the previous one I took led to yet another dead end. Man, this is annoying! Whoever or whatever made these caves are crazy! Why would they make such mazes like these?!

Wait a second...

Now that I think about it, these caves do look as if they've been made by men... A long time ago, of course. But for how long have these caves been here? Well, no time to think about that (darn my crazy mind). As I continued going through a few caves, I then reached an area that was different from all those other caves. I also noticed that this place is a bit _warmer_ over here, but not by much. I continued looking around as I kept holding onto Sonic's limp structure, for his heartbeat kept increasing as his breathing was slowing down even more. As I was getting more desperate for finding a way to keep Sonic warm, I saw one move cave passageway. As I entered it, an excited grin flickered into my eyes...

"Perfect!"

...

**(End of the Sixteenth Crystal)**

...

**Authoress' Notes:** Okay, so no one guessed that Omega would be appearing. I even said that Omega would be appearing eventually in the Fourth Crystal, remember? And yes, Omega has been voiced by three different people, but each of those three has voiced him for no more than one game. The first one, Jon St. Jon for _Sonic Heroes_, was fired (well, sort of) after SEGA replaced the original voice actors (Ryan Drummond and such) for Sonic and friends with their 4Kids cast (the voices that did the anime _Sonic X_) after the death of Deem Bristow (the previous voice actor for Dr. Eggman) in 2005 due to a heart attack. However, Mike Pollock (who voiced Eggman and Ella in _Sonic X_) had replaced him shortly before Bristow's death, and SEGA was planning to replace the original cast anyway, whether Bristow died or not (may he rest in peace). I have to admit, Mike Pollock's done an amazing job on voicing Eggman, he's a worthy successor of Deem Bristow, wouldn't you agree?

The second one, Andrew Rannells for _Shadow the Hedgehog_, had retired from the Sonic cast (for unknown reasons, but he's still doing voice acting for other games). A funny thing about him is that his voice for Omega is so similar to Jon St. Jon's that many fans mistook Omega to be voiced by the same person (Jon St. Jon). I was able to spot the differences immediately, but I really don't care who voiced who. As long as their voice for the character is good, that's good enough for me.

The third one, Maddie Blaustein for _Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)_ (or _Sonic Next_, your pick), passed away in her sleep on December 11, 2008. She's a transsexual (not that I care) who is best known for voicing Meowth (and additional characters) in the _Pokemon_ anime. I have to admit, she's done an amazing job voicing all those characters. She could have done better for Omega's voice, but it was good enough for me. As of April 2009, it is currently unknown who will be voicing Omega now, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Oh, and the reason why Omega has said some of those silly lines, such as the part with the frog (a reference to Sonic Heroes) is because he actually says some of those crazy lines in the games. I like Omega, since he can be silly at times.

**References:** When Maria mentioned that she was eleven hours older than Scarlet Hawkinson, that was a small Easter Egg (though I'm pretty sure that not that many people caught sight of it). You see, in the _Archie Comics_ of the _Sonic the Hedgehog_ series, Sonic first appeared in the first issue (obviously), while Scourge (as Evil Sonic) first appeared in the eleventh issue, which was ten to eleven months later. Just so you know, even though Scourge the Hedgehog has been around since the eleventh issue, his green form (due to the Master Emerald) didn't appear until _Issue #160_. This also the same issue where writer Ian "Potto" Flynn and the artist Tracy Yardley! made their debut (yes, there is a "!" on Yardley's name, taken after one the first Sonic comic artists named Scott Shaw!, whom Yardley! was a fan of) in the _Archie_ _Comics_ of the _Sonic_ _the_ _Hedgehog_ series. Just so you know (once again), Scarlet Hawkinson is based off from Scourge the Hedgehog. That's right folks, I even design some of my characters based off from the comic-exclusive ones too, but not that many.

Hypothermia is an illness that occurs when someone is in the deep cold, especially under icy water. As a person planning to become both a medical and an art student, you've got to know this stuff.

So... tell me what you think!


	17. You and I are One

Big thanks to Llirbwerdna**d**i**v**ad (not na**v**i**d**ad, which is Spanish for Christmas, bleh. Whatever, you're still the Christmas Boy), Liunt, and C'est Un Monde Mervielleux for reviewing.

Sorry for the long wait, I've been busy with exams and such. And after next Thursday, it'll be summer vacation time! ...Of course that means I'll me even more busy, summer art classes (hopefully) and what not.

And here's the Seventeenth Crystal.

...

**The Seventeenth Crystal: You and I are One**

...

"Big Sis is this way! Come on!"

"TINY HUMAN CHILD HAS GONE MAD. TEMPERATURES NOT SUITED FOR SMALL CHILDREN."

"Shut up!"

As Merhea continued yelling at Omega for his crazy comments (much to Rouge's annoyance), all of them ran ahead following Merhea, who was somewhat fast for a small kid. Merhea wasn't able to run as fast as any one in the group could, but she had a lot of stamina, for she kept on running, determined to find her older sister.

"She's this way!" Merhea pointed at a left fork before running ahead.

"Hey," Shadow grabbed Merhea and carried her, "It'll be a lot faster this way, point the directions as we go."

"Okay," Merhea said as she pointed to another forked path, "That way."

"Wait up guys!" Tails and Amy said as they tried to keep up.

"Then pick up the pace!" Rouge said, "We need to find them before it's too late!"

"Huh?" Merhea looked as if she noticed something.

"What is it?" Shadow asked.

"I think... I just heard Big Sis?"

"You sure?" Shadow asked as he kept his protective grip on Merhea.

"I don't know," Merhea looked around, "I think it came from that way," she muttered before pointing at a right fork.

"AREA WITH MORE HUMIDITY DETECTED FIFTY METERS AHEAD," Omega said, "WEAK LIFE SIGH DETECTED."

"That's gotta be Sonic!" Amy exclaimed before taking out her hammer (yet again), "Now let's go and help him!"

"Hey! What about Big Sis?!" Merhea said, annoyed as Shadow also had a slightly annoyed look on his face.

...

_Ugh... Where am I?_

Sonic slowly sat up as he looked around before having an annoyed look on his face. Great, he was inside the pitch-black darkness again. This has always happened to him ever since Maria bit him inside the Soleanna Castle after the defeat of that Puppet Golem, he had no idea what could've happened after that, especially since he didn't expect Maria biting him... to get some of his blood.

"Hello!"

Sonic jolted as he looked behind him, and to his shock, he saw...

"Maria?" True enough, she was there, no crystalline features were on her whatsoever. But she still has the sleeveless white shirt and the knee-length black shorts covering her body, she was also barefoot. Strangely, she didn't have her glasses on.

"Hehehe!" Maria grinned as she quickly but gently grabbed Sonic's hands, lifting him to his feet, but she did not let go, "Come on! Come on!"

"What the...?" Sonic, who was confused as he let her drag him in a random direction, wondered what Maria was up to.

"You won't be able to keep going if you keep getting yourself hurt like this!" Maria said cheerfully as she then held to Sonic's hand with her right hand, "Afterall, you promised Maria you would save her, right?"

_Huh? Why did she...?_ Sonic began to think until, "Who _are_ you?"

"Oh! Silly me!" the assumed Maria giggled as she stopped running, still holding Sonic's hand, "I forgot! I am _Sonic_, and Sonic is _me_. Okay?"

"Huh?" Sonic was confused again. _What is she talking about?_

"You've always done what you could to help out others," Maria smiled, "And soon, Maria will be able to thank you, too!"

_Why is she...?_ Sonic kept asking himself. _Why is she referring to herself in third person?!_

"Hm? What's the matter?" Maria asked, "Are you upset?"

"Uh..." Sonic was at a loss for words, which was weird, since words don't often fail him.

"Oh! I get it!" Maria then seemed to have realized something, "You're tired, aren't you?"

"Uh... Yeah, I guess..."

"Really? I'm sorry! Here!"

"Wha...?!" Sonic yelped as Maria picked him up with incredible yet gentle strength and held him like she would to a child.

"How's this?" Maria grinned, while Sonic was unsure what to think.

"Where..." words were finally beginning to help him, "...are we?"

"You mean you don't know?" Maria asked with a confused look.

"No," Sonic shook his head instantly, feeling nervous yet comforted by Maria's gentle hold.

"Hmm... how should I put this?" she had a thinking look on her face before she said, "Ah! Yes! You are _Maria_, and Maria is _you_!"

"...Wait a minute..." Sonic realized, "...You're not Maria Robotnik..."

Maria had a blank look on her face, then suddenly laughed, "Ahahaha!! Silly boy! I never said I was!"

"Then who are you?" Sonic asked, not trusting the fake Maria.

"Didn't I say it before?" the fake Maria smiled, "I am _Sonic_, and Sonic is _me_."

"What is going on?!" Sonic jumped out from the fake Maria's arms.

"Aw.... I liked carrying you like that, Maria would too..." the fake Maria said as she had a slightly offended look on her face.

"Who are you... and why are you here?!" anger was slowly rising up within Sonic's mind, "An impostor like you should never exist!!"

The fake Maria had a hand over her mouth as she looked a little frightened, which made Sonic feel bad a little, but she answered anyway, "I told you before, I am _Sonic_, and Sonic is _me_. Don't you get it?"

"Wait..." Sonic then realized another thing, "You mean... counterparts?"

"Hmm..." the fake Maria seemed to have forgotten Sonic's anger from earlier, "I _guess_ you could put it that way."

"Why are we here? And what is this place?" Sonic asked, "Last time I asked, you said that I was _Maria_, and that Maria was _me_. So _where_ are _we_?"

"Hmm... how should I put this like before?" the fake Maria muttered before smiling, "Ah yes! _You_ and _I_ are _one_! Therefore, we are _**in**_ _one_!"

"Enough with the riddles!" now Sonic was getting frustrated, "Just tell me already!!"

"You are _Maria_, and Maria is _you_," the fake Maria repeated as she placed her left hand on the side of her face and smiled, much to the confusion of Sonic, "I am _Sonic_, and Sonic is _me_. _You_ and _I_ are _one_. Therefore, we are _**in**__ one_!"

"...Care to be more specific?" Sonic asked, annoyed.

"Nope!" the fake Maria said cheerfully, "Because I can't!"

"What do you mean you can't?!"

"Because all I know is that I know nothing."

"...Care to be a _little_ more specific?"

"We are _**in**__ one_, but _one_ cannot remember _me_, who cannot remember _you_, who cannot remember _one_. _**But!**_" she smiled and raised a finger to get Sonic's attention, "_You_ have something that _one_ does not, making _**you**_ _Maria_, and _**Maria**_ _you_. With it, you can help _Maria_, who is _**one!**_" she then suddenly disappeared...

"WAIT!!" Sonic called out to her until he felt himself collapsing.

...

"Sonic, can you hear me? Please, wake up!"

Sonic's body twitched a little, he felt something gently pressed against his muzzle, but it gave him soothing oxygen. He grunted a little before shifting his hand, which then felt a foreign thing gently grip over it. Struggling to keep conscious, Sonic opened his eyes as blurry images were seen before him.

"...Wha...?"

"Oh Sonic! You're alive!"

"Huh? Amy?!" Sonic jolted awake at the sight of a red and pink blur hugging him as his sight cleared, realizing who it was, he quickly said, "Amy! Get off!"

Amy pouted, but she obeyed.

While taking in deep breaths, Sonic removed the oxygen mask from his face as he realized that he was in an unusually warm place. Looking around, he discovered that he was in a...

"...A hot spring?" Sonic asked.

"Apparently so," Sonic turned and saw Shadow with his arms crossed together, with Merhea by his side in her old winter clothes.

"Are you okay, Sonic?" Merhea asked with a worried look, "You're not hurt, are you?"

"I-I-I-I'm fine," Sonic grunted a little as he shivered, "J-J-Just a little cold and stiff. I've been through worse."

"I brought you a jacket," Sonic turned again and saw Tails in his Tornado mecha as the two-tailed fox pulled out a small thick winter jacket, "Do you want it?"

"T-t-that'd be great," Sonic shivered as he caught the jacket that Tails tossed toward him, putting it on, "Thanks, it feels a lot better now."

"That's good," Rouge, yet another person that Sonic hadn't noticed, spoke, "Now we just need to find that Maria girl."

"Oh, right! Maria!?" Sonic stood up as he looked around (and saw Omega in the process), "She was with me when I passed out! So where'd she go?!"

"UNKNOWN FOOTPRINTS DETECTED," Omega suddenly spoke, "SUBJECT OF FOOTPRINTS NOT PRESENT IN DATA BANKS."

"That's because they're Big Sis's crystalline footprints, you dolt!" Merhea said annoyed, "Can't you think?!"

"AFFIRMATIVE. TWO PLUS TWO EQUALS FOUR."

"..." everyone but Shadow gave Omega blank looks.

"Okay, it's official. That bucket of bolts has no brain," Merhea said.

"THEN SPELL SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALDOCIOUS."

"That's not even a real word!" Merhea snapped before realizing, "...Is it?"

"NEGATIVE."

"...You having fun with this, are you?"

"AFFIRMATIVE _AND_ NEGATIVE."

"...Forget you, then," Merhea said, annoyed with an eyebrow twitching.

While Merhea continued fuming at the robot with everyone but Sonic looking on, the blue hedgehog looked at the footprints that Maria had left. Judging from the dirt around it being a little dry, Maria must have left him here about half an ago at his estimate. She probably left Sonic here in hopes of the hot spring warming him up, which it did quite a bit. The fact that Maria went missing had made himself uncomfortable, then he suddenly remembered...

"TINY HUMAN-..."

"Tiny human child has gone mad and _blah blah blah!_" Merhea snapped, "You've already said that about three times already!"

"...Hey, Shadow."

"What?" Shadow uncrossed his arms as he walked towards Sonic.

"What were you and Rouge doing around here when Maria went on a rampage anyway?"

"We were assigned by the G.U.N. Commander to find and bring back a Chaos Emerald," Shadow answered, "Apparently, the Intelligence Team detected an unusual energy source around here, which is most likely a Chaos Emerald."

"That's where Maria's at then," Sonic's eyes narrowed at the thought.

"Why do you say that?" Rouge asked as Merhea stopped yelling at Omega.

"I've found out that back in Soleanna, Maria's been reacting to the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic said as his eyes followed the footprints, "She must sensed one before going on a rampage not too long ago."

"Then that means that there is a Chaos Emerald in this area," Rouge muttered, "Meaning that if we find it, we should be able to find her."

"And we better do it quick," Sonic's eyes narrowed again as he took a closer look at one of the farther footprints, "I don't think she's got much time left."

"Why do you say that?" Tails asked as he shifted his attention towards his blue friend.

"She coughed up blood again..." Sonic muttered as he saw a few specks of blood on one of them.

_**...RRRRRRRRRRRRGH...**_

"Did you guys hear that?" Sonic asked with a serious tone.

"HOSTILE PRESENCE DETECTED," Omega stated as he pointed at the direction where Maria's footprints led to another cave-like entrance, "NUMEROUS MOTION DETECTED."

Sonic, thinking for the worst, ran on ahead. _Maria, where are you?_ Ignoring the cold that was still seeping into his body despite the jacket, Sonic kept following the three-spike-toed prints that Maria had made.

"Hello again."

Sonic whipped his head at random directions, that is, until he saw Maria.

He was about to say something, but Maria pressed a finger against his lips, "Shh... I don't want anyone, especially Merhea, to know that you can see me."

"What...?" Sonic then trailed off as he realized that was the fake Maria that he met earlier.

Shadow, who caught up with the blue hedgehog, "What is going on?" he asked in a serious tone, "Why did you run off like that?"

"You didn't see...?"

"See what?" Shadow asked seriously.

"You mean..." Sonic barely muttered before he realized... _I'm the only one that can see her?!_

The fake Maria pointed towards one of the many caves, "That way..."

"...This way, guys!" Sonic pointed at the same direction the fake Maria pointed before running on ahead.

Strangely, the fake Maria seemed to be floating while running as Sonic ran on with Shadow and the others following (with Rouge carrying Merhea). She smiled as Sonic continued to follow her, but looked frightened as everyone heard countless noises of growling and pounding up ahead.

"What is...?" Sonic then suddenly realized, then ran towards the next cave entrance just before he saw a boulder fling out from the entrance, barely missing Tails, "Oh no, Maria's on another...!"

"Big Sis?!" Merhea looked through the entrance as she and all the others (except Omega) saw numerous craters... and about twenty, if not thirty, creatures fighting...

...And one of them was Maria, still in her almost completely crystallized form, roaring as she tore one apart...

"_**WAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!**_" she howled in pain as she used her claws to tear her attacker apart.

The monsters that Maria was going up against looked a lot like clowns and jesters, with some being black and white, while others were purple and gray, while others had those colors mixed. Their arms were able to stretch with their abnormally large hands and fingernail-like claws in the process, while their legs were able to stretch and kick. Sonic realized in horror, that those clowns and jesters were the despised Golems.

Another one of the Clown Golems charged at Maria, but she grabbed it and flung it away before getting hit by a Jester, which made her grunt in pain. She quickly recovered and tore off the Jester's head before flinging its crumbling body towards another Clown Golem that was sneaking up to her. She roared in fury as she continued to attack the Golems with slash after slash until she was hit in the back by two clowns at once, knocking her to the ground.

"Oh no..."

"UNIDENTIFIED CREATURES ARE HOSTILE," Omega said, stating the obvious until, "POWER SOURCE DETECTED, POISONOUS SUBSTANCE DETECTED IN POWER SOURCE'S STRUCTURE."

"So this 'power source' that Omega was talking about was actually Maria?" Rouge said in confusion, "But Omega, Maria's a human, not a battery."

"CORRECTION, NO TRACE OF HUMANITY IS DETECTED AT ALL FROM POWER SOURCE. CHAOS RADIATION LEVEL IS VERY HIGH, SENSORS DO NOT EVEN REACH THIS LIMIT."

As Omega continued rambling on about Maria's abnormal traits, Sonic, along with Amy, Tails, and Shadow, watched as Maria kept on roaring in pain as she was battling the Golems of Clowns and Jesters alike.

_What do I do...?_ Sonic asked himself. _I'll get poisoned and crumble into dust, thus killing me, if I get to close to them. Ugh... what can I do to help her?_

"You want to save her, right?" Sonic's eyes widened in a scowl and shocked manner as he _somehow_ _felt_ the fake Maria gently touch the bottom of his chin with the knuckles of her fingers with her left hand. She smiled in a strangely confident manner, "How about we use that power that you've obtained over time. Shall we use it?"

Sonic's eyes widened even more. What did she mean? And what kind of power is she talking about?

"Don't worry," the fake Maria smiled as she rubbed her finger against his muzzle and chin, making Sonic feel a little uncomfortable, "I'll do what I can to help. Decide quickly, little boy, she doesn't have much time left, you know..."

True enough, Sonic noticed that Maria was actually getting tired after what seemed to be hours of endless fighting, for he actually couldn't remember for how long he was unconscious when he passed out while on Maria's back. Sweat was beginning to form on the sides of his head due to the intense mental pressure. What should he do? Should he trust this impostor?

"Well?" the fake Maria urged, "Shall we do it? Remember, it's your own decision that will determine her fate."

_Should I trust her?_ Sonic asked himself before seeing Maria roaring in pain after being hit in the back by a Clown as blood slowly began to flow out from her mouth that had somehow formed from inside of the crystalline "mask" that was covering her face. After seeing her in such a state, he turned to the fake Maria, "Okay," he barely muttered, "What do I do?"

"It's simple," she grinned as she rubbed the back of his left ear, treating him as if he were a pet, "Just run towards her like you've always done, that power will come to you when you need it."

"Don't know exactly what you're saying, but okay," Sonic nodded as he ran forward, ignoring the outburst from everyone (except Omega).

"Sonic, wait!" Tails and Amy cried out, but Sonic ignored them.

Sonic then ran towards the rampaging Maria and the remaining Golems that were attacking her. Quickly glancing around, he saw that Maria had already torn apart many of the infamous monsters. Judging from how many remains that were still crumbling to nothing, there must have been over a hundred of them. A bit of relief went through his mind, knowing the possible thought that Maria had probably taken out more than half of them already. It wasn't until Sonic had to duck in order to avoid an arm that was thrown aside, that was when he heard Maria roar a cry that sounded... odd... like a warning... Looking back, he saw Maria with her mouth agape as she stretched her longer left arm out and gently grabbed Sonic's entire frame before yanking him out of harm's way, as he soon discovered that there was poison pool building up at the spot where he was once standing.

_What is she doing?_ Sonic kept asking himself as Maria gently placed him between the spikes on her back as she gave him a somewhat angry but relieved growl.

"Oh..." the hedgehog suddenly realized before smiling a little as Maria stared at him, "...I get it, you left me behind because you didn't want me to get hurt by these freaks."

Maria didn't say anything as she turned back to the few remaining Clowns and Jesters. Growling again, she charged at one of the clowns and tore it apart, but not after shielding Sonic by turning her back away from the poisonous blood. It was then Sonic had noticed that Maria had gained amazing flexibility, because he didn't remember her being able to do this in the past. However, he also realized that, as long as he was holding onto Maria's back, he won't be able to save her. Then the question raised into his mind: What can he do? Just as he was about to ask himself, Sonic felt Maria's crystalline body tremble a little. His eyes narrowed in worry, for he knew that Maria wouldn't be able to take much more of this.

"Now's the time, little boy," Sonic snapped out of his thoughts and saw the fake Maria in front of him, she gently rubbed her left finger against his right brow as a drop of sweat formed on the side of his head, "Go on, tell her."

"Uh...?" Sonic clenched his teeth a little, "Tell her... what...?"

"Don't worry, there's a chance that she might know," the fake smiled with a small giggle, "Ask her if she needs your help, that would make a good start," she suddenly disappeared afterwards, much to Sonic's annoyance. However, he felt that he had no choice but to take the fake Maria's advice.

"Maria," the said person that Sonic had called turned her head towards him. His eyes narrowed again, this time in hope, "Do you... need my help?"

Maria growled as she had what seemed to be a playful smirk on her face. She lifted her left arm again and gently grabbed Sonic before putting him down next to her, leaving Sonic to wonder what she was up to as she shook her fist.

"What are you...?" Sonic had an uncertain and uncomfortable look on his face.

"Meh..." Maria growled a little before charging at the Golems with Sonic following before smashing her colossal hand against one of the few remaining Clown Golems. Strangely, the five remaining Golems, three Clowns and two Jesters, just stood there like lifeless puppets.

"Wait a second," Sonic stopped Maria before she could run off again, "This is too easy, something's not right."

"_**OOOOOOaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAaaaaaaWWWWWwwwwWWW...**_" the five Golems groaned before one Clown spoke, "_**You've got common **_**sense.**"

"Then how about you show us your real power?" Sonic taunted, feeling confident, "We'll be able to take care of you easily."

"_**Oh... We don't THINK SO!!**_" the three Clowns shrieked blissfully as they and the two Jesters laughed, causing a small chill to run down everyone's (except Omega's) spines. Both Sonic and Maria moved back as they and the others (who were from a distance) watch the five Golems melt into one large thick black puddle. Nothing happened for a moment, but Sonic was instantly corrected as he and the others saw the large puddle ooze and morph into existence of a giant colossal-sized mutilated Clown of many grotesque features, such as its long sharp purple tongue and gray-yellow to red bony protrusions from almost its entire body.

"...I had to say it, didn't I?" Sonic said as his right ear tilted a little, in which Maria growled a little in response. However, she had little time to growl anything else as she quickly grabbed Sonic and jumped out of the way from a giant claw that was about to crush them, "Okay..." Sonic trailed off, "_That_... was too close."

"...Peh," Maria scoffed before letting go of Sonic and charging at the newly dubbed Colossal Clown, she successfully landed a few slashes against one of its legs, but not after being hit in the stomach and sent flying back to Sonic.

The blue hedgehog instantly jumped out of the way with a yelp just before Maria crashed at the spot where he was just standing at earlier, instantly making a crater. Just as Sonic was about to say something, Maria jumped to her feet, showing Sonic that she still had some grit and stamina left in her. Raising her larger left arm again, she was about to land a punch on the Colossal Golem.

"_Increase the power of her attacks, little boy_..." Sonic heard the fake say while feeling a slight tug in his mind, making him sweat a little. However, he made himself think that he was just hearing things. But... even if he did... should he listen? And how would he be able to increase the power of Maria's punches? It wasn't until something a little insane entered into his mind. Sonic, who had bit of an unsure grin on his face, charged himself for a spin attack.

"What is that blue hedgehog doing now?" Shadow muttered to himself and Rouge and the others looked on worriedly, while Omega simply stared at Sonic, who was still charging up for his trademark spin attack.

"Here we go Maria! You ready?!" Sonic said as he quickly started spinning on forward.

"_**HUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!**_" Maria stretched out the back of her fist in Sonic's spinning path as Sonic then rammed himself against the back of Maria's crystallized fist, thus ramming the right leg of the Colossal Golem, making it cry out in pain.

"How did they...?" Tails and the others looked on in amazement.

"BY USING THE TRAJECTORY OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG'S SPIN ATTACK," Omega explained, "POWER SOURCE WAS ABLE TO INCREASE ITS ATTACK POWER BY MANY TIMES."

"Big Sis has a name, you know. And you're still not smart," Merhea said, despite the small "admiration" of his knowledge that the robot had.

"Hmph!" Shadow gave out a small grin to himself as he then raced down towards Sonic and the somewhat rampaging Maria, "Need a hand?"

"She could use one," Sonic nodded as Maria slashed at one of the Colossal Golem's arms, "That thing has poison all over its body, meaning that only Maria can touch it without getting killed," he then pointed at the Golem's legs, "That thing may be big, but the bigger they are, the harder they fall. If we just keep using our spin attacks to power up Maria's punches, she should be able to knock it down."

"So you're thinking how, huh?" Shadow mused, "That's not like you."

"Do you want to help or not?!" Sonic suddenly snapped, causing Shadow to look slightly surprised. After a quick moment, Sonic's eyes widened as he started scratching his head muttering to himself, "Man, what is _up_ with me...?" he then turned to Shadow, again with a serious expression on his face, "You haven't answered my question."

"...Sure," Shadow said after a moment of what seemed to be suspicion.

Just before Sonic ran off as he did another spin attack at Maria's fist (thus allowing her to actually damage the Colossal Golem), Shadow could've sworn that he saw something different radiating from Sonic's eyes. Whatever it was, Shadow didn't like it, for he had a bad feeling about what was going on with both him and Maria. Just as Shadow was about to do another spin attack, he saw Sonic doing another one against Maria's fist, allowing her to rip off a piece of its leg. The black hedgehog took this moment with the Golem stunned as he himself then spin dashed against Maria's stretching fist, this time, Shadow noticed that Sonic himself also did a spin dash right next to him. Maria, noticing the boost the two hedgehogs had given her, allowed her arm to swing itself against the Colossal Golem's other legs, knocking it down.

"You're both turning into bothersome pests..." it muttered angrily, causing the two hedgehogs to keep their guard up as Maria growled before roaring.

"Maria! Easy!" Sonic quickly waved a hand at her somewhat frantically, "Calm down!"

"_Let her use you_... _Throw yourself at her like a_ bullet..."

Sweat beaded on the side of Sonic's head again at the sound of the fake Maria's gentle voice. _No... stay calm, hedgehog. Stay calm._.. Sonic took a somewhat deep breath. _I don't want to hurt her again_...

"_Hmm hmm hmm!_" the fake Maria's gentle giggling could be heard within Sonic's mind, "_Don't worry... _'your' _memories will tell you how to do it_..." the fake girl spoke as Sonic gulped.

"Ugh..." he felt a somewhat painful thump within his head.

"Sonic?" Shadow seemed to notice the blue hedgehog blanking out, then noticed that Sonic's eyes had lost their glimmer... completely dull, emerald green eyes... "Sonic?!" The blue hedgehog didn't say anything as he suddenly dashed towards the Colossal Golem, "What is that fool doing...?!" Shadow was forced to look at Maria as she let out a deafening roar before running towards the Colossal Golem alongside Sonic.

"What are they up to?!" Amy gasped as Tails and the others (except Omega once again).

"Bis Sis!" Merhea tried to call out to her sister, but failed. But then she and the others saw what they thought was unbelievable... As Sonic jumped into the air, Maria punched him, making him fly like a bullet... and impale through the Colossal Golem's body and heart...

"...What...?" Shadow's eyes widened at the sight of their combined attack before setting his eyes on Sonic, who looked shaken, but his eyes had their usual glimmer back after shaking his head.

The two hedgehogs and the others turned their attention back to the Colossal Golem as they saw Maria charging while screaming out a monstrous roar... Just as Sonic was about to shout out something, the crystallized girl roared again before grabbing one of the Colossal Golem's arms with both her arms... and ripping it off with ease, much to the horror of everyone.

"WARNING! POWER SOURCE HAS GONE MAD!" Omega looked as if he was about to short circuit, "POWER SOURCE'S CHAOS ENERGY LEVELS HAVE GONE OFF SENSOR'S CHARTS!!" What Omega said was true for Shadow, for can feel large amounts of Chaos Energy radiating from her body. However, for some reason, he questioned himself on why hadn't he tried tapping into her power?

As Shadow looked on in horror, he noticed that Sonic ran away from Maria as she continuously tore the giant Colossal Golem apart piece by piece. It wasn't until Shadow noticed that Sonic was actually running from the poisonous pool of blood that was leaking out from the randomly thrown limbs that Maria had torn off.

"_**YOU LiiiiiiIIIIIIIIttttttTTTTTtttttTTTTTlllllLLLLLllllllllLLLLEEeEEEeeEEEEEE PPPPPEEEEeeeeeSSSSSsssSSSSSSsssTTTtttttttTTTTttttTTT!!**_"

"...GWUH?!" Maria instantly jumped back from the Colossal Golem's live remains as the the monster had somehow exploded, looking up, she and the others saw that random pieces of Golem rock were raining down. Growling again, with her speed, she ran towards Sonic and Shadow while punching away at the rocks that could've hit them.

"Everyone back in the cave!" Tails yelled out as he (still in his Tornado mech) and the others ran back to the cave that was the entrance of the battle zone.

"What about Sonic and the others?" Amy asked worriedly.

"Big Sis'll take care of 'em," Merhea said confidently as she rubbed a piece of dirt from her right shoulder sleeve, just before Maria suddenly landed behind them with Sonic on her back and holding on to Shadow with her left hand, "See? I told ya!"

"Guys," Rouge suddenly said, "I'm afraid we've got another problem..."

"What is it?" Shadow asked.

"This cave is about to collapse!" the bat said as she barely avoided a stalactite from skewering her to prove her point.

"Not now!" Shadow looked a little concerned, "We haven't even found the Chaos Emerald y-..." a red jewel then suddenly appeared in front of his face, "-...et..."

"So you had the Emerald with you ever since you started fighting those Golems?" Sonic asked, Maria then nodded in response.

"Guys! How about we get out of here?!" Amy shrieked, "The caves in front of us are about to collapse!" True enough, many of the exits have been closed off already.

"I have a better idea," Shadow muttered at he quickly took the red Chaos Emerald from Maria's right hand, "Everyone, link arms!"

Everyone did so in a matter of seconds.

"**CHAOS...**"

"What are you..."

...

"_**CONTROL!!**_"

"Doing...?" Merhea barely finished her sentence as she suddenly felt dizzy.

"Everyone can let go now," Shadow didn't say anything else as he was released from a shaken Maria's grip.

Merhea let go of the Tornado as she took off her winter jacket, revealing a lighter white jacket underneath, "Man it's hot... where are we, anyway?"

"Right where we were last time," Tails said somewhat happily, "Back at the workshop!"

"We are?" Sonic asked as he jumped off of Maria's back while taking off his own winter jacket, no longer feeling the chills he previously had, "Sweet!"

"Uh...?" Maria suddenly whimpered.

"Maria?" Sonic turned his attention towards her, and noticed that she looked very tense, "Are you okay?"

"Uh..." she let out short randomly hoarse breaths, "Un... Eh..."

"Oh no..." Sonic knew what was going to happen next.

"_**GHACK!!**_" Maria spat and coughed out blood, however, this time...

"She's coughing out more blood that ever, now!" Sonic realized in horror, "Maria, come on! Hang in there! You need to stop coughing!"

_**BIKI!**_

Everyone except Omega froze at the familiar and infamous sound.

"Guh?!" Maria jerked her head towards Merhea as blood continued to leak from her mouth.

"Big Sis?" Merhea shook as...

**BIKI!**

...Maria suddenly dashed behind her little sister with her fangs near Merhea's right shoulder. Using her right hand, she ripped off the sleeve of Merhea's light white jacket, revealing the violet-colored veins.

"Merhea's...!" Sonic began...

"_**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKK!!**_" Merhea screamed at both the sight of the veins and her sister's fangs.

"Maria! Wai...!!"

Time stood still as Maria sank her fangs into the flesh of her younger sister...

...

**(End of the Seventeenth Crystal)**

...

**Authoress's Notes:** Who and what is the fake Maria? And why is she here? Is she friend or foe? Stay tuned to find out, folks. (Darn advertising)

I know the fight with the Colossal Golem was a bit lame, but it was suppose to. You'll find out why Maria is so powerful later on.

**References: **The word "Supercalifragilisticexpialdocious" is not really an actual word, but it is the title of one of the songs used in the 1964 film called Mary Poppins. The name is pretty hard to pronounce until you get the hang of it. There are plenty of videos out there in the Internet (especially in YouTube), so go ahead and watch them, the song's really good. The words is devised (both English and Italian) from: super- "above", cali- "beauty", fragilistic- "delicate", expiali- "to atone", and docious- "educable". Thus, the entire word roughly translates as "Atoning for educability through delicate beauty." Which means that Mary Poppins is a perfect lady.

However, Omega does not say it like that. About four or five years ago (maybe even more or less), "supercalifragilisticexpialdocious" was used in an American comic strip called "The Family Circus". Billy (the blonde-haired son) was making his little sister Dolly (the redhead girl with a ponytail) practice with her spelling, the words were easy at first (boy, toy, and joy). But when Dolly boasted that she knew them all, Billy then pointed at her while saying (at least, this is what I _**remember**_ him saying): "Well, then spell SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALDOCIOUS!" After that, Dolly runs while crying for her mother, Thelma (aka Thel). The joke for this was to show how "smart" Omega really is. And no, I don't hate Omega, I actually love the big guy, I also love Big the Cat (because I love cats). Hey, those two need some more time in the games, such as _Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood_, that game made me _happy_.

The phrase "I know that I know nothing" is a famous quote by the Ancient Greek philosopher named Socrates. This imprecise English translation comes from the fact that Socrates is _not_ saying that he doesn't know anything, instead, he meant that one cannot know anything with absolute confirmation, but can feel confident about certain things. According to Wikipedia, it could be better rendered "I know, through not knowing". The fake Maria used a slightly different version of this well-known saying, but it had the same meaning.

And that's it for this month. Oh yeah, I'm finally using my DeviantArt page, so go to my profile to go to it. And least, but not least, don't be shy to leave a review.


	18. It's the Fear

I apologize for not updating in June, I've been busy and a little sick during that month. I've long had this ready, but I never had the chance to update this. Instead of listing who puts what in their lists, I'll respond to their reviews.

**_From Llirbwerdnadivad:_**_ Wow. I never noticed that misspelling of my username. Well, at least I'm still Christmas Boy!  
Overall, I found this part quite confusing. The whole 'I am Sonic, Sonic is me' part lost me for a while.  
Another thing, Omega's comments are HILARIOUS!  
On a side note, it appears I was wrong when I predicted that the next emerald would be purple. Heheh._

_**From me: **Yes you still are, that name is officially stuck. The "I am Sonic, Sonic is me" thing is meant to confuse you, so don't act surprised._

_**From GIGA-XISBISS:** NICE!!_

**_From me: _**_...I demand a better review next time, and stop using the Caps Lock, I can barely read what you're writing, and it looks like you're flaming. I'm happy that you liked RotCG, though._

**_From C'est Un Monde de Mervielleux:_**_ What about "I know enough to understand that I don't understand what are you talking about"? It's pretty long XD  
I like the idea to make Omega to be funny because mechanical characters almost never joked.  
Oh, and I don't mind lame fights, just so you know. If you feel like it's lame, you can make it intenser.  
Update soon!  
... Is 'intenser' even a word?_

**_From me:_**_ Maybe I should've used that phrase instead, it might've been more funny. And yes, that's why I made Omega as the comic relief character for this other than the Chaotix, because mechanical characters almost never make jokes. However, I love Omega, and his voice hilarious in some lines, and I just had to use him.  
And just so you know, "intenser" isn't really a word, but I get what you're saying. For this, it would be "more intense" (no pun intended)._

**_From Scorp316:_**_ Hey, you want a big word? Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilcovolcanoconiosis. It means "black lung".  
No? I read that in someone's story._

**_From me:_**_ That's actually the longest word in the English dictionary so far. I was originally planning on using that, but "supercalifragilisticexpialdocious" sounded more funny, and I don't think it would be logical if Omega knew medical terms, so I used this word instead. Plus, it's easier to pronounce in my case._

**From Mina Mongoose Girl (formerly known as Amy Alexis Rose):** No!

**_From me:_**_ What? What do you mean by _"no"_? And you're actually kinda ticking me off here since I find that as SPAM (_**_s_**_tupid _**_p_**_ointless _**_a_**_nnoying _**_m_**_essages). I looked at your previous profile, first you loved Sonic, and now you hate him just because he doesn't love Mina Mongoose? You need to read the comics more, because she has Ash Mongoose as a boyfriend in the present timeline, and is shown to have married Tails in the Mobius: 25/30 Years Later storyline, she even had two children with him named Skye and Melody. If you don't believe me, go to your nearest bookstore, and grab Sonic Universe Issue #5, that might open your eyes.  
Just so you know, I **do** respect other people's opinions about what they think of fictional characters. They can dislike them, but if they hate them, then they have _no life_. They're _fictional characters_. Get a _**life**_._

That ranting aside.._._

**_From ShadowDragon91:_**_ Those chapters were very good. Forgive me though for not reviewing in a long time. I had lost interest in Sonic and I had not read this in a while. By the way, it is still shadowdragon91 but I have capitalized my user name._

**_From me:_**_ Don't worry about it, I originally posted RotCG for the heck of it, I normally don't expect people to read this anyway. And yes, I know you've capitalized your name, but I never really pay attention to that anyway. Still, thanks for the nice comment._

And now for one wacky question (and an annoying one) from the Christmas Boy:

**_1) Very strange question:_**_ Would you believe me if I said that I had just as much chaos energy in my body as Maria has in hers?_

**_My answer:_**_ I might if you were coughing up blood and going on random rampages. Other than that, no._

**_2)_**_ It's been a while since you updated. Not meaning to sound rude, but what's taking so long?_

**_My answer:_**_ Keep in mind that my life comes _**first**_. I have an online class to do, I'm the (somewhat) official editor of a Sonic fan comic series that a friend on DeviantART is writing, and I'm also the layout artist for a different Sonic fan comic series. I normally do not have time to work on _RotCG_, but I squeeze as much free time on _RotCG_ as possible._**_However_**_, if people are going to bug me about questions like this, I'll either ignore them or I'll delete this fanfic and never post any more future writings. Questions like these annoy me just as much as SPAM does, so please, don't ask again. You know what they say, better late than _**never**_._

All that ranting aside once again... enjoy this Crystal while I go play _Sonic Unleashed_ to take my anger out on those Gaia freaks.

...

**The Eighteenth Crystal: It's the Fear**

...

Time had suddenly become frozen...

Everyone just stood there, stunned as blood slowly trickled down from the area where Maria's fangs had punctured on Merhea's shoulder. Merhea's body froze as soon as her sister's bite had taken place, with her face frozen in both shock and fear. As for Maria herself, her eyes showed no expression as she let out a small growl.

"Hey..." Sonic muttered as the others had noticed, "The veins are disappearing!"

"...Uh...?" Merhea slowly moved her head as she felt her sister sucking something out from her with her fangs. Sure enough, the veins that were once there began to subside as it ended at the spot where Maria had bitten her.

"...Guh..." she slowly released Merhea from her fangs as she let out a slow ghastly breath until, "Ugh...!" she gagged a little as she then had her arms touching the ground.

_Another worm?_ Sonic thought as he shuddered. Sure enough, he was right, for a familiar black worm-like slime then emerged from Maria's mouth.

"Mrrrr..." Maria growled as she pressed her fangs down on it, making it emit a small cry. However, this caused her to crush it with her fangs even more. No one dared to move as Maria continued to chew on the poisonous slimy substance, shortly afterwards the "worm" stopped making random cries before she released it, crumbling into nothing. After a few seconds of silence, Maria suddenly turned and looked at Merhea's shoulder. Four obvious bite marks can be seen on her flesh as a small amount of blood slowly came out while Maria closely looked at it. She growled a small sigh, then slowly moved away from the group and towards the end of the runway located near Tails' workshop before staring into the ocean's horizon.

"...Are you okay?" Rouge finally had the nerve to ask Merhea.

"...I... I'm fine..." Merhea slowly nodded as she didn't take her eyes off of her sister.

"Be thankful that she bit you."

"Huh?" everyone looked at Sonic, who had a serious look on his face.

"Had Maria not bitten you," Sonic said as he gently examined Merhea's bite wound while speaking in a serious tone, "...You probably would've died. And if you did, Maria would probably not want to live."

"...?!" Merhea seemed to have noticed something about Sonic, but didn't dare to say a word.

"At least we were able to get a Chaos Emerald," Amy said as she placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder, "It means we're one step closer into destroying that Golem nest, and getting the two sisters home, right?"

"Well, yeah, but..." tears slowly flowed out from Merhea's eyes, "Un... Big Sis..."

"...!!" Sonic's eyes widened as he remembered something, "Amy... you... you...!"

Everyone looked at him in an odd manner as they saw him clenching his fist while shaking it.

"_**YOU IDIOT!!**_" Sonic suddenly snapped as he smacked Amy's hand away.

"?!" Everyone was shocked, especially Merhea and Amy. What caused Sonic to get such an outburst?

"...What?" Amy had a shocked and scared expression on her face.

"Don't you realize that it was _your_ fault that Maria ran off like that?" Sonic spoke angrily.

"What are you...?" Amy was shaking.

"You called her a _monster_ more than once," Sonic snarled, "If you hadn't done that, then she wouldn't have gotten herself hurt!"

"But at least she found an Emerald..." Rouge began.

"Forget about the Emerald!" Sonic snapped again, starling everyone, "What do you consider as more important, a blasted jewel of unlimited power or _a life that can't save __**herself?!**_"

"Uh..." Rouge was speechless.

"HOSTILE PRESENCE... DETECTED FROM SONIC THE HEDGEHOG," even Omega was surprised as he said slowly, "...YOU ARE ...AGITATED."

"You're darn _right_ I am..." Sonic fumed, he took many angry breaths as he spoke, "From what I know... Shadow is the _only one_ besides me who ever _dared_ to help Maria fight those Golems whenever they show up..."

"But... what about that Puppet Golem?" Tails then had the nerve to ask as sweat came out from the side of his head.

"Yeah, but only until Maria regained consciousness..." Sonic's fuming continued, "Ever since those _Golems_ showed up, you've all been doing _nothing_ other than watch Maria kill those _forsaken things!_"

"Sonic, please..." Amy was almost on the verge of crying, "...Calm down..."

"Oh _**now**_ you're showing sympathy?!" Sonic snapped, "When we all first met her, all of us treated her like a normal person. And what happened after she was crystallized this far? Most of you wouldn't even _dare_ to approach her! You've all went up against Eggman's killer robots before, so how is this any different?!"

Everyone was silent, for what Sonic said was true. When they did first meet Maria, they thought of her like a normal human being. But ever since they first saw her destroy those Golems and her biting Sonic in Soleanna, they were beginning to have doubts about her. Shadow was able to understand how Sonic felt, for he still thought of Maria being a normal person, not a monster. However, he still felt a little guilty about not helping her sooner.

"Well..." Amy, who was still shaking a little, "We all know that she can't control herself and..."

"Is that all?!" Sonic fumed again, "...Now I get it, you're _afraid_ of her, aren't you?"

"Well..."

"_**Answer me!**_"

"Hun..." it was then tears flowed out from Amy's eyes, filled with regret.

"I _thought_ so..." Sonic fumed as he glared at everyone except Shadow and Merhea, "If you afraid of Maria, then _get out of here, __**and **_**don't**_** come back**_**.**"

No one moved...

"It's only been five days since we first met her..." his fuming continued, "Ever since we first saw her go on that rampage back in Station Square three days ago, all of you but Shadow and me didn't even _dare_ to help her. Think about our previous enemies in the past, especially the _**Black Arms!**_" Shadow's ears twitched at the sound of that, "They almost destroyed _everything_ in this world until Shadow stopped them! Did Maria try to destroy anything? _**No!**_ All she did was attack the Golems, Eggman's robots, and sometimes us! What would you all prefer, her attacking the things I mentioned earlier, or _anyone_ and _anything_ in _**sight?!**_"

Shadow and Merhea looked at each other, still shocked at Sonic's sudden anger. However, they were also a little angry at the others for fearing the Golems and Maria herself, for it wasn't like them for one thing. When Shadow turned his attention to Merhea again, he noticed that Merhea had a somewhat suspicious look on her face as she took a good look at Sonic, as if she _knew_ this kind of action. As for the others, they didn't know what to say, not even Omega.

"...Hmph!" Sonic still had the angry look on his face as he stormed off and stood by Maria, who didn't respond as he placed his hand on her larger left arm. His mind went blank for a split second while thinking...

_...What is _wrong_ with me?..._

...

"Tails."

"What is it?"

"Has Sonic ever acted like that?" Shadow asked as he turned attention to the two-tailed fox.

"Not that I know of..." Tails trailed off, "I mean, I seen him get angry before, but not like that," Tails shook at the thought.

"Wah..." Amy still continued crying tears, "How could he?! How could Sonic yell at me like that?!"

"He did have a point, though," Shadow said rather bluntly, "You guys hardly ever did anything to help Maria destroy those rock monsters, much less distract them for her to destroy."

"But all of those encounters were so sudden," Rouge sighed, "If we had known what they were, we might have been able to destroy them more easily..."

Merhea still had that suspicious look on her face, for the way Sonic acted looked... familiar to her. The way Sonic would yell at someone... was just like the way Maria would do it whenever _she_ gets angry at someone. Thinking back, the way Sonic yelled at her when Maria was in dire need of love from her younger sibling while in Soleanna, Maria would also act like that whenever their friends Andy and Lulubell somehow get into a squabble. Then again, she does have bit of a short temper, how Maria's been able to keep calm after all of this Merhea has no idea. Because, normally, Maria would yell at someone for not doing "their part of the work". Instead, Sonic was the one who snapped.

"Regardless," Shadow sighed a little with his arms crossed, the red Emerald still in hand, "We all need to destroy those things, for Maria might eventually become unable to do so."

"AFFIRMATIVE," Omega suddenly spoke, "MOST LIKELY WEAK SPOT ON SUCH CREATURES WOULD BE: THEIR HEAD OR LEGS. POWER SOURCE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DESTROY THEM MORE EASILY."

"Big Sis has a name, you know," Merhea said, irritated.

"IGNORING TINY HUMAN CHILD-..."

"Hey!"

"...-PERHAPS MAYBE THE FLAME-THROWER?" Omega suggested.

"We'll give that a go the next time we come across 'em," Rouge said with part of her confidence back, "We'll burn those creeps to the ground."

"Ooh...!!" Everyone turned and saw that Amy was in a deep rage, "That's it..." she took out her trademark hammer, "_**SONIC!!**_" she yelled angrily as she threw it towards him, much to everyone's surprise. Sonic, however, didn't even move a muscle as Maria's larger crystalline hand reached out and caught the Piko Piko Hammer with ease. It turns out that Sonic's not the only one to be angry at them, for she was also full of rage as her fangs were completely exposed. To the surprise of Amy, Sonic gently took the hammer from Maria as he gripped it in a strange manner.

"That's it, Amy..." Sonic muttered angrily, "You _asked_ for it..."

"Humph!" the pink hedgehog took out another Piko Piko Hammer from who knows where, "And so did you..."

"Who said that I was gonna fight you?" Sonic said as he rose an eyebrow. Amy fell over in disbelief as the others (except for Omega) just gave Sonic somewhat blank looks. Sonic, having a somewhat annoyed look on his face, "Seriously Amy, if you're gonna keep throwin' those hammers. I might go insane, so quit it, alright?"

"Okay, let me get this straight..." Amy got up, "First, you get all mad and stuff... And now you're only being _annoyed?!_"

"..." Sonic had a blank look on his face before, "Arch!" he startled everyone with his sudden outburst before the blue hedgehog turned away, "Okay... where should I be laughing like an insane idiot right now..." his face went blank again before shaking his head and rubbing it, "Okay... I'm going crazy."

"...Sonic?" Amy began.

"_You shut up!_" Sonic quickly yelled as he threw the first Piko Piko Hammer, which hit Amy in the head, thus knocking her down, "And I'm _not_ sorry for that! Now _**you**_ know how painful that crazy hammer of yours is!"

"...I must say that this is the first time that Sonic has ever acted like this," Tails said with an eyebrow twitching as Amy got up, shocked by what Sonic just did.

"Why is Sonic...?" Merhea began before trailing off, still thinking suspiciously, "No, wait... I've been with her longer than he has, so how...?"

"What is it?" Shadow still had his arms crossed.

"I don't know, but... um..." Merhea was scratching her head in thought, "For some reason, Sonic's acting a lot like Big Sis."

Shadow raised an eyebrow slightly. Sonic? Acting like Maria? He wasn't really sure, then again, he doesn't know Maria's personality that well. Whatever was causing Sonic to be like this, Shadow can understand. It was true that Sonic has been acting strangely ever since the time he was bitten, but that couldn't have been the reason, could it? Did Maria really have such a temper against subjects like this? Before Shadow could ask however, he noticed that Maria was still enraged at Amy's attempt of hitting Sonic with the hammer. Maria growled at Amy in disgust, causing the pink hedgehog's frame to shake.

"Uh..." Amy looked at her in fear, "Um..." Maria let out a grunt before moving away, her fangs somewhat exposed before sitting down next to Sonic.

"Hey, Sonic?" Merhea asked it more like a comment than a question.

"Huh?" Sonic had another blank look before shifting his attention to her, "What?"

"How did the chicken cross the road?"

If anyone were to give Merhea strange looks, it would've been everyone, even Shadow, Omega and Maria. What did she mean by that? Sonic, who had yet another blank look while deep in thought. He gave her bit of a strange look before looking a little irritated, however, something forced him to speak, but didn't know what, "The chicken did it by jaywalking, why?"

"AHA!" Sonic was caught off guard as Merhea pointed at him with a big grin on her face, "I knew it!"

"Uh..." his body shook a little after he was startled while looking at Merhea in an odd way, "...Knew what?"

"Only Big Sis knows that answer!" Merhea grinned.

"Uh..." to everyone's surprise, it was Maria speaking, "I didn't know that one."

"What?!" Merhea was surprised, "But you always say that as an answer!"

"I do?" Maria raised an eyebrow, or at least, she seemed to be.

"Something is going on between you two!" Merhea then said frantically, "You're not acting like yourself, and yet Sonic's acting like you!"

...

Merhea's words soaked into Sonic's mind, he was acting like Maria? Then again, he hasn't been feeling like himself ever since the time Maria's blood was first spilt on him after the first time she went up against of those Pewter Golems. That, and he kept seeing what seemed to be random events in what also seemed to be Maria's memory. Then he remembered the fake Maria's words... "_I am Sonic, and Sonic is me_." What did she mean by that? And why?

"Uh, Merhea?" Maria seemed a little concerned, "Are you sure that you're not overreacting?"

"I am not!" Merhea seemed a little frustrated, "Something's not right about this picture! I'm serious!"

_Ugh_... Sonic's head began to ache, making him feel a little sick. Odd... he didn't remember having this symptom... Part of him also now regretted that he yelled at the others, especially at Tails and Amy. It was then he remembered... "Where's Cream and Vanilla?"

"I..." Tails began as he got off from the Tornado, "...told them to head back to their house in Station Square before we all went out to find you two," the two-tailed fox had a hesitant look on his face, "I thought it might have been safer for them to stay behind."

"Good," Sonic had a small sigh of relief, "And Tails, I'm sorry for yelling, I'm just..."

"Irritated at all of this, I know," Tails also sighed, "I kinda regret for not helping as much as I should, I guess I feared her as much as I feared those things," he turned to Maria for a moment before turning back to Sonic.

"...I'm going out for a run," Sonic turned away from everyone, "I need to clear my head."

"Go right ahead," Maria yawned.

"..." Sonic didn't say anything else as he ran off.

"...Guess this means we'll be going too," Rouge's ears drooped slightly as she spoke in an uneasy manner while turning away from a glare from the crystallized human.

...

Thoughts kept swirling inside of Sonic's mind as he kept on running through a nearby jungle that was miles away from the Mystic Ruins. He felt a little guilty having to leave Maria with the very people who had feared her, but he needed to loosen up, otherwise he might snap at his friends again. Speaking of which... How will he be able to make it up with Amy? Because of these uncontrollable impulses that he's been having recently, he was unable to keep this unusual temper in check, thus making Amy cry when he snapped. Sonic slowly recalled the events that had come about since around the past five to six days as he kept on running.

The first day he met her, she was merely a regular human with very few crystalline features, and she was out unconscious during the whole day afterwards. The second day, after she awoke, she had acted like a normal person too. She did seem surprised at the appearance of Sonic and friends at first, but quickly accepted them for who they are, as if she had somehow _knew_ them in a way. All was normal until Eggman came in during that evening, when he had those two Chaos Emeralds with him, which caused Maria to go on that... horrible rampage, right in front of Merhea, too. She remained crystallized even to the third day, when she had to help Sonic repel Eggman yet again while getting herself impaled in the process. Thankfully, Merhea saved her, but that also gave Sonic some concerns. Since there's also a chance that Merhea might turn into one of those... crystalline things... Luckily, she hasn't showed any signs of being one. After all of that, all hell broke loose regarding Maria's rampaging and the Golems that are running amok.

"I've gotta find a way to restore Maria's memories," Sonic said to himself, "If I don't, then how will she be able to interact with her friends back there?"

Sonic wished that someone or something would give him an answer, but as expected, he received none. Biting his lip, he quickly scanned his surroundings, nothing abnormal so far, but that made him a little more nervous for some odd reason. It's probably these odd mental symptoms that he's been having recently, but it has become bit of an obstacle, since he's been unable to fight the Golems like he would to any other enemy. Ever since he's been having these mood swings, he's been unable to communicate with his friends lately, to even the point where he's been able to stand up to Amy's Piko Piko Hammer, which he normally runs away from. He then thought about Knuckles, for he wondered if the red echidna had any luck into finding those Master Emerald shards other than the one that had once stabbed off Maria's right eye. Speaking of which, he wondered if he made the right decision to leave her alone with those who couldn't even stop her in her rampaging state.

"Why so gloomy?"

Sonic whipped around, trying to locate the sound of the voice, but then realized... "You again, huh?" he said in an irritated tone.

"What? Not happy to see me?" it was the fake Maria that had spoken again as she smiled in a playful manner.

"All right, what do you want now?" Sonic was a little irritated by her sudden appearance, but at the same time a little glad, for she might have some answers.

"I will if you tell me what's wrong," she smiled.

"Maria's...unable to move on with those powers of hers," Sonic somewhat sighed, "I keep telling her that she's not alone, but she doesn't seem to agree because..."

"Because your friends feared her, right?" the fake Maria said as she placed her finger around her mouth in a thinking manner.

"I don't know about Merhea or Shadow, but... Augh...!" the blue blur grunted irritably, "Just thinking about them just upsets me and I don't know why! Even _**I**_ now that I don't normally act like this! Not only that I've been feeling weird headaches lately..."

"You seem to be normal to me," the fake Maria said, "Well, than again, I don't know. Maybe you're someone else?"

Sonic's mind seemed to have clicked on something. Now that he thought about it, he sometimes felt like that he was in Maria's shoes. When he remembered her strange sense of humor while keeping her seriousness whenever she does something... didn't he feel like that? He also remembered her being angry at Rouge when she thought that the voluptuous white bat wasn't doing much to help when Sonic still had those wounds on his hands two days earlier. Then he realized, "No way..."

"What is it?" the fake Maria looked at him curiously.

"You said in the past that I am Maria, and that Maria is me," Sonic said while using his fingers in a thinking manner, "And that you are Sonic (which is me), and that Sonic (me again) is you. If we are and in one, who is Maria, does that mean... that _I'm_ turning into someone like Maria?"

"But that would be impossible, you have no blood relation to her," the fake said.

"Wait, then... if you are me, while I am you, then..." Sonic's eyes widened, "I'm basically talking to _myself?_"

The fake Maria smiled, "Seems like you got Part One."

"What?"

"Now you need to find out about Part Two," she smiled again.

"You mean you know?!" Sonic asked surprised.

"I said that you _seem_ to have gotten it, not that you're _correct_. However, I do agree on your statement, that we're basically talking to what seem to be ourselves."

"So... if... I'm Maria..." Sonic pointed to himself before pointing to the fake, "...and that... you are Sonic, then... _Who_ or _what_ is Maria suppose to be?

...

After everyone but Amy, Tails, and Merhea had left shortly after Sonic ran off, Maria just sat there in a lifeless manner staring at the three remaining. Her red and violet eyes had a dull luster in them as she continued to stare at them.

"B...Big Sis?" Merhea slowly approached her older sister, with Maria's crystalline face watching her every move, "Are you okay?" Maria didn't say anything as she continued staring at her sister, "Do you still remember me?" the younger girl asked somewhat desperately. To Merhea's surprise, Maria responded by gently touching her hair with her smaller crystalline claws, telling her that she still does. With sadness still in her mind, Merhea gently grabbed her sister's crystalline hand, "I'm sorry, Big Sis... I'm really sorry..."

"Hrpf!" Maria gave a slight huff in annoyance, surprising everyone. She gently rubbed her younger sister's hair again while gently making her forehead touch hers, as if she was trying to tell her sister something.

"Big Sis, can't you speak?" Merhea asked reluctantly, but Maria's eyes told her that she was unable to anymore, even though she was able to not too long ago, "I'm sorry..." she then noticed that Maria's eyes scowled in response, "You mean... you don't want me to apologize?" Maria nodded in response. She pointed at Merhea before pointing to herself while shaking her head. Merhea, who was still confused, "What are you trying to say?" The crystallized Maria sighed, letting go of Merhea, she turned away in the process.

"Big Sis...!" Merhea trailed off as she then realized that Maria was now ignoring her for now, "Big Sis... I really want to know what you're trying to say..."

Unfortunately, Maria seemed to have given up on trying to communicate.

...

"How much further is it until we get to Sonic's place?"

"Well, James," Knuckles said as he, the Chaotix, and the human named "James" continued running towards their destination, "We should be able to get there by either the end of the day of tomorrow at this rate. It's a good thing that you're fast."

"I'm sorry if I'm causing you guys any trouble," James said with a slight tone of guilt in his voice, "The thing is, I really wanted to brings my friends back home."

"It's no trouble!" Vector the Crocodile said as he continued blabbering, "That's our job as the Chaotix!"

"Yeah! That's our job! Our job!" Charmy said cheerfully.

"So why exactly are we tagging along with Knuckles again?" Espio said as he kept a watchful eye out for any unwanted company.

"Well!" Vector loudly said as he and the others stopped, with James looking as clueless about them as ever, "Keep in mind that I do not like it when I get separated from you or Charmy! So I'm not letting our client go through the same thing!"

"...You do realize that he never hired us in the first place, right?" Espio rose an eyebrow.

"Grr...!" Vector had a vein popping on his head, "J...Just keep following Knuckles! I need to go to Station Square, anyway!"

"Yeah, so you can see the lady rabbit!" Charmy teasingly sang.

"_Shut up!_" Vector clocked Charmy in the head, knocking him to the ground.

"Er..." James looked at the Chaotix in an uncertain manner before whispering to Knuckles, "Are they always like this?"

"Only when they're not serious, so..." Knuckles then nodded, "Other than Espio, yes, they're always like that."

"I... see," James raised a somewhat amused eyebrow as he, Espio, and Knuckles continued watching Vector continuously giving Charmy random lectures that made little to no sense.

...

**(End of the Eighteenth Crystal)**

...

**Authoress Notes:** Why did Sonic snap? And just who is James? That's for you to find out.

When Amy threw her hammer at Sonic, I remembered that in any media, Sonic didn't do anything to go up against the Piko Piko Hammer other than running away from it. So I made a scene that would have using the hammer against her for once.

**References:** When Merhea asked Sonic "_How did the chicken cross the road?_" Notice that she used the word "_How_" and not "_Why_" when she asked it. You remember the old joke of "Why did the chicken cross the road?" with the answer being "To get to the other side." However, it never explained how the chicken crossed the road, so I made a little joke about that.

That's all for now, guys. If you liked this Crystal, Read and Review and tell me and the fellow reviewers what you think.


	19. The Only Eye Witness

Oi, oi... looks like a lot of people got off because of my rant from last month. Ah well, I'm over it now... I think. Anyways, on with the reviews!

**From Liunt:** Nice to see you updated again got a bit confused with the whole fake maria talk. Almost miss the update (to much blazblue) till then, c ya.

**My reply:** I don't know what "blazblue" is, but it really doesn't matter. As long as you've read it and happy with it, then that's fine by me. And yes, the fake Maria is suppose to sound confusing. If you want to know what she's talking about, then use your head and see if you can find out. Heh heh...

**From Scorp316:** Right now, Sonic is reminding me of my Dad a little. If he starts to overreact and swear (which I'm sure he won't) because something stupid breaks, like say... a garden hose, then it's my Dad... or me. Sadly, I overreact just like he does. As for this chapter, I think it was well worth the wait, and that you're making great progress! I also read your rants, and please don't consider removing this story if someone is pressuring you to finish! This is one of my favorite stories on this site!

**My reply:** Yes, it was well worth the wait, because you've actually read my rants and comments! As for your Dad's temper... that's a bit like mine. Hey, when things break, it's becoming expensive to either repair them or get a replacement for them.  
RotCG is one of your favorites here? Huh... to be honest, I don't expect people to read this anyway, much less liking it. Still, thanks anyway!

**From Alexia the Hedgehog (formerly Mina Mongoose Girl):** Good chapter, i would like to mention that when said no i ment as no way!!the good kind , but good story.

**My reply:** Oh, I see. Sorry about that part of the rant in the previous Crystal then. My only request, though, is please work on your punctuation. It's not that it's bad, but I usually have bit a hard time reading what you're typing.

**From C'est un Monde Merveilleux:** Another nice chapter!

But I noticed that this chapter is slightly shorter than the other chapters... Or is it just my feelings?

By the way, did you know that chickens can be used to fly? Pick up a chicken, and jump. We will glide slowly in the air :D (sound familiar?)

**My reply:** Yes, the previous Crystal was shorter in word count, but hey, it still has over five thousand (you should get what I'm saying here).  
And yes, I know that Zelda reference of the Cucco chickens. Whenever I play Ocarina of Time on the GameCube, I would sometimes go to Kakariko Village and play with the Cuccos. Yep, they're so much fun... Especially when you hit them with a bomb of some sort or a Fire Arrow or Din's Fire and seeing them attack you. Whenever that happens, I would yell out "Berserk Chickens!" in a comical manner. You should try that sometime.

Eh, whatever, you guys know the lame intro and blah, blah, blah... Just enjoy this Crystal or may Wario from the Mario series attack you with a bucket (from _Mario and Wario_, a Japan Only PC game, get the joke?).

...

**The Nineteenth Crystal: The Only Eye Witness**

...

"Man, all of this is so confusing!"

The fake Maria looked at him in concern as he kept on mumbling about random things that made little to no sense. She figured that it would be best for Sonic to vent out these newly obtained emotions, however, she doubted that it would do any good.

"Man!" Sonic sighed again, "If Maria's been acting like this, then how come she hasn't done so when she first met us? All this... frustration's building up! _**Argh!**_"

"Has she ever been this frustrated towards you?" the fake asked.

It was then Sonic calmed down as he went deep into thought, "Now that you mention it... she did _once_... back at Soleanna..." he trailed off before realizing, "That's when she started losing her memories!"

"Looks like you're getting it, Sonic," the fake said as she called Sonic by his name for the first time, much to his surprise, "Soon, I don't think you'll need me."

"What are you talking about?" Sonic asked, confused, "Do you actually know what's going on?"

"No," the fake shook her head as she smiled a little, "I do, however, believe that you're getting closer to solving this mystery."

"Grr..." Sonic growled in annoyance, but so far the fake Maria has been able to help him out, even though he had known her for only about a day, "I know you're playing tricks with me! How else would you be able to control me back at those caves?!"

"No," the fake Maria placed her finger against Sonic's mouth in a hush manner, "_'You'_ did that all on _'your'_ own," the way she spoke her words caused Sonic to sweat a little, making him uncomfortable.

"..." Because of the confusing things that the fake Maria was saying, Sonic was unable to come up with a response. This was odd for him, because every time someone said something in an attempt to confuse or scare him, Sonic was usually able to make a retort to it. Sweat once again formed on the side of Sonic's head as he furrowed his brow, angry at himself for not being able to speak for the moment.

"You've said before that you're not like yourself," the fake said as she smiled a little while patting Sonic's shoulder, which sent a chill down the hedgehog's spine, "The evidence is right _there_..." she muttered as she then placed her finger above his brow, "...in your _head_."

"Ur...?!" Sonic suddenly froze before he slowly collapsed once again...

...

"...And if I hear one more word about that, you're not having any Honey Candy for a _**week!**_"

"Awwwwwwww!" Charmy moaned, "But I want some Honey Candy..."

"Whatever, we'll get some when we get to Station Square! ... If I feel like it," Vector grumbled something before releasing the small bee, which who, of course, is flying around in random directions.

"Wheeeee!! Yay! _Yay!! __**Yay!!!**_" Charmy cheered for no apparent reason.

"Are you... done, Vector?"

"Hrm?" Vector turned and saw James having a slightly amused expression on his face. However, the right side of his face was still covered with his dark brown hair.

"You all said that we need to go to this 'Station Square', right?" James asked as he tugged on his blue cloak a little, "So... are we ready to get a move on?"

"...Well! You heard him, boys!" Vector called out proudly, "Let's get there as soon as possible!"

"Here we go again..." Knuckles rolled his eyes a little as did Espio.

"Hopefully he'll be serious this time," Espio whispered to Knuckles, who nodded in response.

"You mean that he usually doesn't?" James asked before sighing, "This could take a while..."

"We'll try to get Station Square as soon as possible," Espio said while Vector again started rambling random things at Charmy, "We'll make sure of that."

"Agreed," Knuckles nodded, "And maybe in the process, we might be able to find some pieces of the Master Emerald in the process."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it," James sighed a little, "Thank you."

After receiving the nods from Knuckles and Espio, the three of them heard Vector saying that he's now ready to get a move on (with Charmy still flying around saying random things). James, who then tugged on his blue cloak before he started running alongside them, "... ... ... ... ..."

"You say something?" James turned to Espio the Chameleon, who was the one that asked.

"...No," the human said after a moment while running behind the Chaotix.

Knuckles looked suspiciously at the human named James, for he kept his hood on, making sure that the right side of his face wouldn't be exposed. Why James wishes to not show it, Knuckles has no idea, but it could be something that not many people have. His blue-green eye continuously moving around, possibly keeping a watch out for more of those monsters they Knuckles and the Chaotix have fought earlier. As the group of five continued on moving, Knuckles suddenly stopped inside of a rocky quarry.

"...Knuckles?" James began, "What is it?"

"I sense some pieces of the Master Emerald nearby," Knuckles, "Quite a few, too."

"Are they similar to one that I gave you earlier?" the human asked, referring to the green shard that he had given Knuckles after he saved the Chaotix from a Clown Golem. Speaking of the Chaotix, they came back after they realized that they ran ahead as Knuckles and James had stopped.

"Yes," the red echidna nodded as he started climbing a nearby wall made of rock, punched a hole into a certain crack, making two small green shards fall out. Picking them up, Knuckles then said, "I might have mentioned this earlier, but another one of those blasted Golems, the one I'm talking about being a Puppet, shattered the Master Emerald. I don't know why, but..." he then turned to the others, "...I know we need to get the Master Emerald back together."

"You think that this Master Emerald might have the power to wipe out those things?" Espio asked.

"That's what I'm hoping," Knuckles nodded, "As of now, I've managed to find a total of four pieces, including the two I've just found," he then showed the others the said shards, and the largest one was...

"...Why is this one covered in blood?" James asked as he took a closer look at the blood-stained shard, as did the Chaotix, but Vector decided to keep the hyperactive honey bee from trying to see it since he's still a little kid.

"It's a long story..." Knuckles sighed, "I think you're better off not knowing until I take you to Sonic and the others."

"Okay," James agreed, much to the red echidna's surprise as the human looked around, "You said that there may be a few more of those shards here, right?"

"Yes."

"Should we split up, or...?"

"You and I will go up these rocky walls, while the Chaotix will search from below," Knuckles said, "I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"All right," James nodded, as if he _knew_ that Knuckles doesn't completely trust him yet. The human does have some suspicious behavior about him, but has shown very little of it. Then again, Knuckles can't be too careful, since he's already been tricked by Eggman more than once.

Within minutes the two groups split up, the Chaotix moved down some of the rocky walls while Knuckles and James climbed up some of them. To the echidna's surprise, it turns out that James isn't that much of a slacker when it comes down to climbing with the help of his somewhat forgotten sword. He wasn't as fast as the echidna, but it was good enough for Knuckles. Speaking of which, Knuckles then suddenly sensed that a shard was nearby until...

"I think I found one!" Knuckles looked down and saw James with an excited look on his face while holding a large green shard, enough to cover the palm of his hand, "Is this one of them?"

"Yep, it is!" Knuckles smiled slightly as he took the shard, "At this rate, the Master Emerald will be restored in no time!"

...

"You said in the past that there was a similar case to this, right?"

Shadow, who had left shortly after Sonic had that outburst that the black hedgehog never expected to have, was questioning Rouge something about a previous Crystal Golem that had existed. Omega, who was with them at the time, also came with them. Thus, Team Dark were discussing while they were in a GUN base that was nearby, inside an office to be exact. Omega isn't technically a member of GUN, but the robot does consider GUN helpful when it comes down to finding information about Dr. Eggman's whereabouts. Speaking of which, the said person has been unusually quiet, making Team Dark wonder if something had happened to the bloated scientist with an I.Q. of 300.

"Yes," Rouge nodded as Omega listened, or at least looked like it, "There was another human female around Maria's age, whose name remains unknown, that had abilities just like hers two decades ago. However, get this: Unlike Maria, this person was always on a rampage, and whenever GUN tries to send a unit to capture her..." Rouge then shivered, "...she kills them by ripping them apart... just like Maria does to those Golems without a second thought."

"...That's a disturbing piece of information," Shadow raised an eyebrow, "Anything else?"

"Yes, here's what it says," Rouge read the content of the papers again before saying, "Apparently, like Maria, she also had someone, who was probably a civilian, that was always with her no matter what. However, when he was killed by a group of GUN soldiers by accident, she went on another rampage and killed most of that group. Then, one of the surviving soldiers shot her in the forehead before he was killed by her as she was dying."

"She was shot in the head?" Shadow slightly shivered, but not enough for anyone to notice, while Omega slightly tilted his head in slight interest.

"She died minutes afterwards after killing the rest of the surviving GUN group," Rouge read as she slightly froze at the last few pieces of info, "When another group of soldiers were dispatched to retrieve the bodies, strangely... her body... wasn't found... only her... skull..."

"Skull...?!" Shadow now had a slightly disgusted look on his face, "As in... her head?"

"Yes," Rouge shivered, "It was confirmed to be her skull since it had that gunshot wound through her forehead and back... when it was taken to the scientists for study... all went well for the next forty-eight hours until all seventeen of those scientists were killed mysteriously, three of them looking like suicides. One was hanged, one was shot though the head at point blank, while the third... looked like he stabbed himself through the heart... the other thirteen were dismembered, possibly by those previous three."

"Hold on," Shadow suddenly stopped the conversation as he turned to Rouge, "You said that there were seventeen scientists; three of them died in what seems to be suicide, and the other thirteen were killed, that's a total of sixteen. If that's the case," he then raised a finger, "...What happened to the seventeenth?"

"I missed that," Rouge went back a page, listing the seventeen mysterious casualties, "It says here that the last one was actually the sole survivor of the girl's rampage after her companion was killed, despite having lost his right arm. After the first sixteen died, the last one most likely fled in terror. But... when he was found..."

"WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN?" Omega asked, "MY PATIENCE ON THIS SUBJECT IS RUNNING THIN."

"He was found skewered with a giant crystal that had somehow fallen from the ceiling of a cave..." Rouge shook at the mental image she had.

"...Something tells me that there's a chance that we might suffer the same fate as these people," Shadow narrowed his eyes.

"That's not all of it," Rouge read, "After all of those scientists died, that girl's skull... disappeared without a trace... According to some, some think that her skull was stolen."

"WHOEVER STOLE THAT SKULL MOST LIKELY KNEW ITS IMPORTANCE," Omega stated, "THAT IS, IF IT **HAD** ANY IMPORTANCE."

"I don't know why, but..." Rouge then put away the papers she had earlier in a nearby drawer, "...Kind of like what Shadow said, something tells me that there's a chance that Sonic has the role of being the 'companion', and if he dies somehow..."

"...Then we won't stand a chance against her," Shadow shook his head as he thought about the time he talked with her in Soleanna, with Maria being all upbeat and nice to him, just like the one he once knew, "I don't know about going Super, but..." for the first time, the black seemed to be truly concerned, but didn't show it any signs of it toward the others, "Whatever the circumstances, we can't let Sonic get killed by those rock monsters," he slightly shuddered at the thought of seeing a dead Sonic in a mangled state covered in blood.

"Even though we've been gathering the Chaos Emeralds," Rouge said as Shadow took out the red Emerald, which he decided to hold on to just in case, "I don't know if they will be enough."

...

"Everyone, I'd like you all to meet our new student."

Sonic opened his eyes as he shook his head, still lying against the ground at the sound of the voice. The blue hedgehog got to his feet as he regained his normal sight, but instead of being inside a forest, it was a classroom...

"What...?"

Sonic saw many students staring at him, fearing that the people were able to see him at last. He moved back a few steps, but stopped as soon as he felt a chill run down all over his body, someone walked right through him... When Sonic regained his movements, he realized that the students had focused on Maria instead, but something seemed different about her.

"She looks... so much younger..." True enough, the Maria he's seeing right now looked a lot younger than the one he currently knew. Her hair was still long, but it reached down to the bottom of her shoulders. The last time Sonic saw her in this school, her hair reached down to the middle of her back, but the Maria he met had long red brown hair that reached down to the bottom of her back. The thing he also noticed about her was that her face seemed a little more round than her older self, giving her a youthful appearance; however, despite that, she looked emotionless. She wore a black T-shirt that fitted pretty well along with blue jeans; her blue jacket, which looked like a sweatshirt at first glance, hid her figure pretty well.

"This is Maria Robotnik, who will be your new classmate for this period," Sonic turned and saw a woman in her forties speak, she then turned to the young Maria as she pointed at a desk and smiled a little, "You can sit on this desk in the front row."

_So this is her day here in this school?_ Sonic thought to himself.

"...Thank you," Sonic ear's twitched as the sound of Maria's voice, which sounded unusually... sad. As Sonic watched Maria sit down on the desk she was assigned to, he noticed a familiar person near the back rows.

"Isn't that..." the blue hedgehog walked up the the student in question, who had the familiar bandages around the right side of his face, "It's Jamie..."

The young boy called Jamie Bon Kudo looked at Maria curiously from a distance, who was taking out a book and some paper and started working on an assignment of some sort. Sonic, who was standing right next to him from the boy's right, looked at the contents on Jamie's desk. There was not only papers for an assignment of some sort, but he was also writing some random stories, along with a few doodles next to the writings. When Sonic was able to get a good look at the young boy's face, he was amazed at how young he looked. His hair was a bit shorter than the last time he saw him, but it was enough to cover the bandages on the right side of his face. What also surprised Sonic was that Jamie's clothes looked a little more... ragged than the last time he last saw him. His clothes, which was composed of a blue-green shirt that looked a tad worn from so much use, along with his blue jeans, which had a patch that was on the right side of his right thigh. It wasn't until Sonic took another good look at him as he noticed that his clothes looked a little... _big_ for him.

"She's kinda pretty..." Sonic heard Jamie mutter to himself before hanging his head down a little, no one else seemed to notice though, "I guess I'll have to be careful..."

"Careful? Over what?" Sonic asked, but realized that Jamie, much less anyone, can't hear him anyway. Regardless, he then noticed that his face had a bruise of some sort near his left eye, as if someone had hit him not too long ago, "Maybe it was one of the girls?" Sonic asked to himself.

_**"BOON!... BOON!... BOON!... BOON!"**_

Most of the students scrambled at the sound of the school bell as they furiously packed up their things and running out. Sonic of course, ran out of the students' way, since he didn't want to feel those chills again like the time Maria went through him. As Sonic watched most of the students running out towards their next classes, he saw that a few were still there, Maria and Jamie being an example along with a few others that Sonic didn't recognize.

"Ow..." Jamie gently massaged the bruise on his face as Sonic turned his attention to him for a moment, "Man... I don't have any idea on what that karate girl was thinking... I only bumped into her by accident..."

Sonic only raised an eyebrow at that statement, but he hoped that he would feel better from it. As Jamie left, Sonic noticed that Maria was talking with the teacher about something about an assignment and something else, but wasn't able to hear what they were saying.

"All right, thanks for helping me," the teacher said as she gave Maria a large file folder, "I would've delivered this myself, but I can't be late for that meeting. I'm sorry for asking you this on your first day here."

"It's all right, I'll manage," Maria said as she gently took the folder, "This needs to be delivered to my next class... Art Class, right?"

"Yes, her name is Miss Meese," she said, "Don't worry, she's a really nice person."

"All right," without anything else to say, Maria turned and-...

"Oh! Maria! I forgot to give you this!" the teacher then gave her a small slip of paper, "This will be your pass, that way you won't be tardy."

"Thank you," Maria then walked away as Sonic followed. To Sonic, Maria seemed to be the usual girl she pretty much is, only a bit more... emotionless than she usually was. She was then muttering to herself, "Now... if I remember correctly, Art Class is this way and-..."

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Both Maria and Sonic looked ahead and saw Jamie getting yelled at by some girl that was around his age, but was shorter than him, probably around Maria's height. Her short dirty-blond hair and green eyes seemed to match well with her purple-pink sweat shirt and pants. Apparently, she was yelling at Jamie for something.

"I-I'm sorry! I just dropped my pencil and it just happened to roll by you..." Jamie said a bit nervously, which is somewhat understandable since his locker was fairly close to the angry girl's.

"Is that so?" she snatched the combination lock that Jamie used to keep his locker closed with her right hand, "I don't care about your pathetic excuses since you went too close to my personal space!" Just as she was about to hit Jamie with his own combination lock, Maria suddenly grabbed her wrist with her left hand, much to everyone's surprise.

"Mind telling me what's going _on?_" Maria asked as she slightly emphasized "on" with an expressionless look on her face.

"That's none of your business, transfer student!" the blonde girl snapped, but Maria didn't react as she raised a brow. She then squeezed the girl's wrist, making her drop the lock, "What was that for?!"

"You tried to hit a person unarmed," Maria raised a brow again with her grip still on the girl's wrist, still squeezing it a little, "All because this kid tried to pick up his pencil that was near you? That's pretty low. He apologized, so that should be it."

"...Siding with the weakling, aren't you?" the girl snarled.

"You must be pretty weak yourself if you were using a tool such as a combination lock to hurt someone," Maria said as she slightly smirked.

"For your information," she snatched her away after Maria released, "I'm a purple belt in karate!"

"Then I take it you're the one who hit this kid some time ago?" Maria said as she pointed her left thumb at Jamie, who was behind her.

"Uh... how did you know that?" Jamie had a surprised look on his face, "...I never told anyone about it."

"The wound itself speaks," Maria answered inaccurately.

"What the heck are you talking about?!" the karate girl asked with an annoyed look on her face.

"This is your locker, right?" Maria asked as she pointed at one of the lockers on her left, which all three of them were pretty close to while ignoring the girl's question.

"Yeah, so what? Or did you want to take me on?"

"Ahahaha... Oh..." Maria laughed a little, "I don't know..."

_**KA-KRUMF!!!**_

"I tend to be pretty _weak_," Maria smirked as the two humans and Sonic had their eyes widened, for Maria had literally punched a somewhat massive dent on the girl's locker! What was even more amazing was that she only moved her arm for the punch without taking her eyes off of the karate girl, "I don't think I can take you on."

Sonic and Jamie looked at her in shock, they never expected Maria to have that kind of strength. The girl that was harassing Jamie just seconds earlier now had a slightly fearful look on her face before running off.

"...Annoying brat," Maria sighed a small scoff while rolling her eyes and slightly shaking her head. She then started to walk away until...

"Wait."

"Hm?" Maria turned to Jamie for the first time, "You're still here?"

"Your name's... Maria Robotnik, right?" Jamie asked nervously.

"Yes, I am," she nodded once as she still had that emotionless look on her face.

"M...My name is Jamie Kudo and... I just to say... thank you, but..." Jamie said a little nervously, probably because he's now standing in front of an even stronger girl, "How did you know... that she was the one who hit me earlier?"

"Like I said, the wound itself speaks," Maria said, "That's all I can tell you."

"You... also do karate?" Jamie asked as he started to follow her after closing his locker with the combination lock that the girl from earlier tried to hit him with.

"No," Maria practically ignored him after her latest statement, "I don't even know how to do karate, not that I plan on learning how."

"I... see," as Sonic looked at Jamie looking a little flustered, "Well, I'm going to Art Class next... You?"

"...Same place," Maria answered, still having that emotionless look again.

"Um..." Sonic could tell that Jamie felt a little nervous speaking to a girl with little to no emotion, like that of a doll, "I can help you get there, if you want."

Maria didn't respond and ignored him as she went on her own, making a slightly frustrated Jamie follow her. Sonic looked at the two in amazement, the last time he saw them, they got along so well... If that's the case, how did they become friends? Or even yet, why has Maria closed her heart from people? And where could Merhea be?

"Do live near here?" Jamie asked as he tried to have a small conversation with her.

"...Only a five minute drive away," Maria answered without looking at him as she and the others approached a door with the number "315" written on it, "This is the Art Room," she then turned to Jamie a second time, "...Correct?"

"Y...Yes... it is," Jamie nodded.

"You first."

"But... isn't it suppose to be... Ladies first?"

"I said _'You first'_," her eyes narrowed, "Now go."

"Ah... O...Okay..." he reluctantly obeyed as he opened the door, while being greeted by a woman who looked familiar to Sonic.

"Oh, Jamie?" it was the short blonde-haired woman, Miss Meese, who had a somewhat surprised look, "What happened? Why are you late?"

"But the bell didn't ring..." Jamie said confused.

_**"BOON!... BOON!... BOON!... BOON!"**_

"...Okay, now it did," he said with a slightly amused look as he looked up at the intercom on the ceiling.

"Who's that girl behind you?" the art teacher asked, pointing at Maria.

"Oh, uh..." the tall boy thought for a moment before saying, "This is uh... Maria Robotnik, she transferred just today and..."

"And you were helping her get here?" she asked with a small smile on her face.

"...No," Maria said as she held out the nearly forgotten file, much to her surprise, "The teacher from Room 131 asked me to give this to you, she gave me the directions on the way. As for this person," she was referring to Jamie, "He was delayed by-..."

"This is her, Dad."

"...That brat," Maria said as she has an irritated look on her face. Jamie and Sonic, however, had surprised and shocked expressions on their faces as they saw the same girl from earlier with a man in his forties.

"Oh! Sir!" the art teacher, Miss Meese, said in surprise, "What brings you here?"

"I was told by my daughter that these two were harassing her," Judging from his status, Sonic guesses that he was the principal of the school, "And I want to confirm it. Now tell me, you two. Did you harass my daughter?"

"No!" Jamie said almost instantly, "She was the one who yelled at me when I tried to pick up my pencil that just happened to roll near her..."

"A likely story!" the principal's daughter said while Sonic looked at her in disgust. Maria of course, didn't say anything in response as she still had the same emotionless face.

"And you, Miss?" the old man asked Maria.

"Heh...Hahahahahahahaha!" she then suddenly started laughing while slapping her forehead, much to the surprise to everyone in the classroom, including the other students that were watching. Sonic could've sworn that he saw a familiar person within them, but he wasn't sure, and he didn't think that he has enough time to check. His only question is: Why is Maria laughing?

"What's so funny?!" the bratty girl asked with an annoyed look on her face.

_**Click!**_

_"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"_

_"I-I'm sorry! I just dropped my pencil and it just happened to roll by you..."_

_"Is that so? I don't care about your pathetic excuses since you went too close to my personal space!"_

_"Mind telling me what's going _on?_"_

And then the recording kept on going until the sound of metal being hit caught the attention of everyone. It startled everyone except for Jamie and Sonic, who actually expected it since they had actually witnessed it. Jamie, however, had a slightly speechless look as he listened to the recording.

"I tend to be pretty _weak_," Maria smirked as she played with her quote from her recording, on her hand was a small digital camera. Apparently, Maria had it hidden in her jacket while it somehow recorded the conversational fight that she interfered in.

"I gotta admit that you're actually pretty strong to me," Jamie muttered, "After all, you're the one who punched a _dent_ into that locker to scare her," a few shocked gasps were heard from the the group of random students that were there.

The principal now had a speechless look on his face before suddenly straightening it and turning to his daughter, "_You_, young lady, are in deep trouble. Your mother and I have raised you better than that!" Sonic didn't bother to pay attention to the whining of the bratty girl as she was being dragged away, cursing at Maria for telling the truth.

"O...kay...." Miss Meese trailed off, "That was... _unexpected_," she said as she was referring to Maria's sudden actions.

"...Where do I sit?" Maria asked.

"Oh... um..." the art teacher looked at some of the five large tables that were there, then pointed at the one with only three students near it, "You can sit there with Jamie."

"Thank you," Maria bowed a little before she settled herself on a chair near the table as Jamie did the same as he decided to sit next to her. One of them was the familiar student that Sonic had spotted.

"Lulubell Toll...?" Sonic raised an eyebrow as he saw her having an uncomfortable look on her face. Judging from the scene from earlier, he guessed that she didn't want to try to get on Maria's bad side... if she had one, of course. Lulubell's clothing was very different from the last time he saw her as well. Instead of wearing the red outfit that made her have a slight resemblance to Knuckles, she wore a black shirt with dark red jeans along with a red jacket. She still wore army boots, but they were jet black with silver trimmings. Her hair was still the same, only shorter since it reached down to the middle of her back. _Wait_... Sonic grasped his head with both his hands. _How did I know her last name?!_

Before Sonic could ask himself anything else, the world suddenly went black.

...

"Any luck finding any more, Knuckles?"

"No, I think that's all of them in this area..."

Within the three hours they've spent on finding the Master Emerald shards, both James and Knuckles were able to find quite a handful. To Knuckles surprise, James didn't express any major signs of being tired out.

"Any idea how Vector and the others are doing?" James asked as a loud booming sound came from below the rocky walls, "...I had to ask," his brow furrowed, "It's them again."

"You mean... there's more of those monsters?!" Knuckles' eyes widened.

"Yeah," he nodded as he then saw the Chaotix running away from a grotesque-like Golem with its features hard to describe, "Looks like that thing..." he trailed off.

"It looks like what?" Knuckles then jumped down with James following.

"Looks like that thing is hungry," James had a smile of disbelief as sweat came from the left side of his head, he then drew out his sword, "Knuckles, get ready for one heck of a fight..."

...

**(End of the Nineteenth Crystal)**

...

**Authoress' Notes:** The Chaotix are getting closer into getting the Master Emerald back together, but can they get out alive? Wait next month to find out! (...Darn ads...) What has become of the skull that was stolen two decades ago? That's for later.

**References:** The girl that was harassing Jamie was based off of an actual person I know (however, the real one isn't really the actual principal's daughter). For some reason, I don't know her name and yet somehow she knows mine. So, as a small joke, the girl's name isn't listed. And just so you know, that girl _**IS NOT**_ Scarlet Hawkinson despite having blonde hair, she was based off from Scourge the Hedgehog from the Archie Comics.

...And that's it for now.

Did Luigi remove that bucket yet, folks? I hope he did, so that you could read and review.


	20. At Sixes and Sevens

Thanks for the wait, everyone! And now...

**From ChojisGirl:** AW! What happens next!?

**My reply: **And of course the classic answer is: Stay tuned! Woo hoo!

**From Namless Daydreamer:** ...cool...

**My reply:** ...What's cool about one word? Ah well, thanks anyway!

**From C'est Un Monde de Mervielleux:** Nice chapter!  
But there's still some things I did not understand. I hope you will point them out later.  
Did you know that I actually forgot about the Master Emerald? I mean, it's been a while.

**My reply:** You did? Whoa... Maybe you'll understand something you got confused about here?

**From Alexia the Hedgehog:** Great chapter! bloated scientist ?? That was way too funny!! well please update soon, and god bless!

**My reply:** God Bless about what? I've never placed my faith in that. Why? I can't trust a person who never even shows up. If "God" is suppose to help people, why the heck can't he just come down from that darn sky and help them for Larry's sake?! (I'm sick of using Pete) Anyways, glad that you got a laugh about that bloated scientist part. Thanks for your review!

**From ShadowDragon91:** Another great chapter from this story, keep going, I want to see what happens next. I liked the part where Maria defended one of your other characters, Jamie. Furthermore, I hope Maria will be alright throughout the rest of the story.

**My reply:** Even though Maria seems to have an average build, she has brute strength to begin with. Moral lesson for that? Don't underestimate girls that look weak, they're stronger than they look. Trust me, I've seen it happen on others. Once again, thanks for the review!

Reviews aside... Ah whatever, just read this, leave a review if you want, and wait for the next month's update while you writhe in agony to see what happens next. Until then, uh... adios?

...

**The Twentieth Crystal: At Sixes and Sevens**

...

Tap. Tap.

"Ungh... Huh...? ...Ow..." Sonic opened his eyes groggily, as if he hadn't had enough sleep. Groaning again he slowly sat up, he rubbed his head since he may have hit when he collapsed, "Man, that hurt..."

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Hm?" Sonic looked behind him and jumped slightly before relaxing, "Oh, it's you. Something wrong?" True enough, the crystalized human looked at him with a slightly worried look in her eyes. She gently tapped him again with her right finger, which began to annoy the blue hedgehog a little, "If you need something, just say it."

She shook her head in response.

"Wait, are you telling me," Sonic became a little skeptical, "...That you lost the ability to speak?"

She nodded.

"Well, that bites," Sonic became a little miffed before suddenly having a blank look about something, but decided to forget about it.

"Heh," Maria gave a slightly amused breath. She then handed him a small bag that had a familiar fresh smell in it.

Taking the bag, Sonic opened it, "Sweet! Two chili dogs and a slice of pizza! I haven't eaten in a while!" he first took out a bottle of water that was in the bag as well, "Who got this for me?"

Maria curled her right hand into a fist, except for her index and middle fingers. When Sonic gave her a slightly confused look, she wiggled the two fingers.

"The Rabbits?" Sonic guessed as she nodded in response, "Oh, thanks."

The crystallized human didn't say anything as she sat down in a slightly feral manner as Sonic started to eat. When he finished the first chili dog within a few bites, he noticed that Maria started to sleep, but looked like she was keeping alert of danger as if she were a guard dog of some sort. Long sighs of breathes came out from between her crystalline teeth as the grass from nearby started to move a little. As Sonic took a small sip from the bottled water, her subconsciously scratched Maria's head like someone would do to a dog or any other kind of pet. She gave out a small grunt, but didn't seem bothered by it.

"Heh," Sonic laughed a little in amusement as he started eating the slice of pizza, "At least you can still sleep." _I know _**I'd**_ go crazy if I ever lost the ability to sleep_. Looking up at the clouds in the late afternoon sky, Sonic took another sip of water before he started eating the second chili dog, which was also the last bit of food from the bag. One of the clouds looked like the side image of his head, much to his amusement as he took another bite from the last chili dog. A few minutes later while gazing at the clouds, Sonic finished the chili dog from earlier, thus having his fill. He took a look at his water bottle, it was about half full, about a cup's worth. Now that he thought about it...

"Oh right, I forgot that Maria loves drinking water," Sonic smirked to himself before realizing something, "Wait..." he suddenly clutched the sides of his head while dropping the plastic bottle, spilling the rest of the water, "How... How do I know all of this?!" He then expected the fake Maria to come up, but oddly, she never did... He then remembered her words.

_"Looks like you're getting it, Sonic. Soon, I don't think you'll need me."_ Oddly, Sonic could've sworn that she was grinning when she said that.

"...Dang it," Sonic clenched his fists, before suddenly being aware that Maria was still sleeping next to him. Looking at her again, "Just what do I do?"

"Hrmph...!" Maria grunted a little as she woke and stretched herself up. Her thick crystallized feet with three short-but-wide clouds slightly sank into the grassy earth below it as the claws of her larger left arm dug into the ground. Her mouth opened up into an inhuman proportion as she yawned, revealing her crystalline blue tongue and fangs.

_Speaking of which_. Sonic thought to himself. _Maria's on the verge of losing herself within those crystals on her body_. A slightly downcast look became apparent on his face. _What will Merhea think when that happens?_ _Or even yet, what will that boy named Jamie think...?_ "Gah! If only there a few more clues...! Then again, every time I think I find one, it usually leads up to even more questions..."

"Hrm...?!" Maria suddenly jolted up and growled, as if she sensed something while startling Sonic in the process.

"What is it?" Sonic asked as he tossed the bag into a somewhat conveniently placed trash can.

"Grr..." she growled again before suddenly running off into a rocky horizon.

"_Hey! __**Wait!**_"

...

"**WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!! HELP! **_**HELP!! HELP!!**_"

Charmy Bee, who was youngest member and also the flight member of the Chaotix, starting flying about in an attempt to get away from the lizard/salamander-like Golem. Vector also looked equally scared, except he wasn't screaming like a manic, only running like a bipedal crocodile would. As for Espio, some sweat did form around the side of his head, but he kept a cool head as he avoided some slashes from the salamander-like beast.

"What is that thing?" Knuckles said as he looked at the salamander-like golem in disgust.

"There aren't that many lizard-like Golems," James answered, "Those things are man-eaters. Instead of shooting poison at their prey, they eat them. They're usually hungry for meat."

"So what you're saying is..."

"Yeah, that thing probably hasn't eaten anything for a long time. It's understandable, since there isn't as much fauna and flora around these rocky walls. Since it's discovered the others, its hunger probably got the better of it, they're usually pretty stealthy."

"In other words, we've got to get them out of harm's way."

"Yeah," James confirmed, "I'll go on ahead and be the bait while you get the Chaotix out of that mess."

"What about you?" Knuckles asked with a slightly worried voice.

"I'll find a way out somehow," James said with a confident look on his face before jumping down with his sword in hand.

It wasn't even ten seconds until James was able to get the lizard Golem's attention, slashing at its right side in the process, which also caused the monster to run after him. Knuckles, taking advantage of the distraction, quickly ran over and grabbed the hands of Vector and Charmy before running to the opposite direction that the salamander-like Golem was running. Espio, or course, went after the giant lizard in order to throw some explosive shurikens at it. The explosions from the shurikens didn't seem to faze it, though, much to the chameleon's frustration.

James seemed to have noticed Espio trying to attack from behind, "You won't be able to destroy it with those weapons! You have to hurt him from the inside out!"

Silently thanking the human for the tip, Espio then quickly altered his skin in order to blend in with his surroundings. Swiftly running in from of the rampaging beast, he threw a stun bomb into the Golem's mouth, but not before feeling something yank him out of one of the lizard's claw's way.

"There's no use in cloaking yourself, Espio," James said, "That thing has poor eyesight judging from its movements, it probably has a very keen sense of smell, which probably helps it navigate this rock labyrinth."

"So then how were you able to spot me?" Espio asked in suspicion, since not many people were able to determine his location when cloaked.

"You were moving pretty quick, so the movement of the air led me to you," James said, "I might not have been able to spot you if _she_ hadn't taught me that."

"She?" A slight sense of curiosity sparked into him.

"Er... I'll tell you about that later," James quickly said as he tugged on the right side of his hood, "Right now, destroying that thing is top priority."

"HEY! _ESPIO!!_" both James and the said chameleon looked behind them and saw that Vector--who was still being chased by the salamander-like Golem--yell out in a frenzy, "A little help here?!"

"I'll try to open its mouth," James said, "In the meantime, try to throw one of your explosives into its mouth," he then quickly ran ahead to help Vector without giving Espio a chance to respond. The young human didn't say anything (much less a battle cry) as he jumped on the lizard's back. Moving his sword into position, he quickly stabbed it into the lizard's rocky skin, making it cry out in pain, "_Espio! __**NOW!!**_"

Pulling out a grenade and removing the metal loop with his teeth, the purple chameleon of a ninja threw the small hand grenade into the lizard's mouth, making the monster swallow it. Even though the small bomb exploded within the monster, only a few rocky scales came flying out from the monster's back, one of them cutting part of James' left cheek.

"Ack...!" Placing a hand over the small wound, he yelled out, "Vector! Where's Knuckles and Charmy?"

"I'm right here!" James suddenly felt someone tug on him (thus making his sword come out of the monster's back as well) and quickly threw him off the lizard's back, which was a fortunate thing, since he was almost hit by the monster's tail. Looking into a different direction, James noticed that it was Charmy who helped him get out of that mess. Of course, he hadn't expected for the little honey bee to be so strong, "You're clear, Rad Red!"

"Got it!" Knuckles the suddenly appeared and punched the monster's stomach from below the ground.

James had a surprised look, since he never noticed that Knuckles had those shovel claws on him. Then again, it's convenient, so he felt no need to complain about that. Watching the monster fall onto its back, James turned his head towards the others, and saw that Vector came up towards them.

"Oh yeah! Who's bad? We're bad!" Vector laughed in victory.

"But if we won..." James began to question, "Wouldn't that mean that we're good?"

That caused Vector to pause for a moment, "Ya know, now that I think about it... You're right! Who's good? We're good! We're the man, man!"

Espio shrugged in amusement, as did Knuckles while Charmy was squealing out in victory as well. James, however, wasn't celebrating at all.

"What's wrong?" Espio asked as he noticed that sweat, along with a small amount of blood from James' cut, began to bead on the left side of his head.

"Something else is out there..." his voice trembled a little, "It has the presence of a Golem... but also human...?" he kept muttering to himself, "A human... thirsting for blood...?"

"...??" Everyone else had confused looks on their faces.

...

"Hah... _Hah... Hah..._ _**Ulkph...!**_"

"Maria, I told you more than once to not push yourself. If you do, you might die of blood loss."

"...Grr..."

Sonic winced at the sound of Maria coughing up a small amount of blood. Whatever direction she was heading to left Sonic clueless, since for some reason, she was heading for a rocky area with virtually nothing of importance there. Of course, since wherever Maria runs off to someplace, it ends up leaving them to a Chaos Emerald in the end. The Emeralds that Sonic knows of... In Sonic's inventory, he has the dark blue, and green emeralds. Shadow, Rouge and Omega have the red one, which Maria has obtained earlier. While Dr. Eggman has the white gray and yellow ones. And speaking of Eggman, he hasn't heard from him ever since the time he left Soleanna, and Sonic couldn't help but winder if something had actually happened to the mad scientist. He doubted it, though, since he is well aware that Eggman has survived things worse than this. Still... Sonic became slightly worried about him, though. Since Eggman tends to actually relieve Sonic of his occasional boredom whenever that scientist attacks Station Square (or some other part in the world).

He then noticed Maria growl again, "What's wrong?"

She pointed at the rocky walls in response.

"You mean there's a Chaos Emerald in there somewhere?" a bit of excitement began to build up in Sonic's mind, slightly relieving him from some mental stress.

And of course, Maria nodded in response.

"All right! Let's go find it!" Excitement once again began to build up, but then felt a pang of fear, fear about the one thing that has always happened whenever Maria gets too close to a Chaos Emerald for the first time... her rampages. As Sonic readied himself to prepare against Maria's sudden rampage, they both went into the rocky labyrinth in order to find the Chaos Emerald that hidden somewhere inside. Oddly... Maria didn't react violently in any way. She did however, growl very deeply, as if she was actually resisting the urge of going on such a rampage. This placed a bit of relief into Sonic's mind, since he didn't want to risk Maria from getting hurt again. If she does go on another rampage, then at least no one would get hurt here.

"Guh...?!" she froze.

"Huh? Sonic looked at her, "What's wrong?"

She drew a simplified reptile chasing a few stick figures with her larger left index finger.

"A giant lizard?" he looked at it with a confused look before realizing, "A Golem shaped like a lizard? And people are being chased by it?"

She nodded.

"Well, let's go then!"

Growling a roar, both she and Sonic ran towards the direction of the Golem on the loose, with Maria leading the way. To Sonic's surprise, Maria still had the almost supersonic speed even in her bulky form. Speaking of forms, he wonder what happened to her slim crystallized form that appeared in Soleanna? Wouldn't it be faster if she had that form in use instead? He then thought about Maria's previous rampages. If there really is a Chaos Emerald in there--and possibly the previous times before--Maria must've been trying to resist going on those rampages. So much to the extent that she can't even control her own form. Regardless, this time, she hadn't coughed up as much blood this time. In fact, this was the least amount of blood she's coughed up ever since her first rampage, which was during the time Sonic first met her.

Since there were so many twists and turns, Maria grabbed Sonic and placed him on her back. The blue hedgehog didn't resist at all, since she'll just growl at him in annoyance, and Sonic did not want to lose her trust. With Sonic clinging to the spikes on her back, Maria ran through many other twists and turns with ease on all fours, despite her left arm still being larger than her right. Eventually, they heard the sounds of large steps and rocks crumbling, along with the battle cries from people trying to attack something.

...

"Vector! Throw that rock on its tail! Knuckles! Throw yours at the head!"

The powerhouses of the group did what James had told them to do in hopes of either distracting or disorienting the salamander-like Golem while Espio prevented Charmy from getting to close to the lizard. Vector did his part by throwing a large boulder at the lizard Golem's tails, which in turn used its tail to destroy it, only for it to get hit in the head by Knuckles' boulder. As it was feeling dazed...

"Espio! Throw another explosive into its mouth!" James said.

"Okay!" the chameleon ninja did as he was told and threw a small bomb into the lizard's mouth. It did explode seconds later, but it didn't seem to hurt it much, "Blast it! And it was my last explosive, too!"

"Now what do we do?" Knuckles became a little frustrated, "We won't be able to get by if we don't defeat that thing!"

"Knuckles! Watch--!" James was cut off...

...as the lizard's tail slammed him against the wall.

"AHUGH!" He coughed out blood in pain.

Knuckles, who was pushed out of the way, looked at the lizard in horror. How could it have gotten behind them so fast? "Hey! Get out of there!"

"Ugh... I... I still need to..." the human coughed out more blood as more from the cut on his left cheek began to ooze out, the small had reopened when he was slammed against the wall, "I... I still... need to... find them... _**GLK...!**_" he felt a rib in his body break...

"_**RRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!**_"

_**KROOM!!**_

"_**GYYAAAAAAHHH!!**_"

For the first time, the lizard cried out in pain as a chuck of its body was torn off with ease. James who was relieved, felt his legs collapse as he held himself up with his arms. Knuckles and the Chaotix, who watched the entire scene, saw another Golem, only it was a sickening crystalline blue...

"Another one?!" Vector exclaimed with an annoyed yet fearful tone in his voice.

"T...That's the...?!" James looked at the crystallized Golem ruthlessly tearing chunk after chunk of rock off of the lizard Golem's body, "That's the Golem I sensed earlier...!"

"It was!?" Espio sweated a little while keeping his cool, "Don't tell me we have to fight that thing, too...!"

"I don't think we have to," Knuckles said with an uncomfortable look on his face, "To think that she has become like this in just a short amount of time..."

"What are you talking about, Knuckles?" James, who managed to walk towards him while grasping part of his chest, said, "What do you mean?"

"It's hard to put it in words," the red echidna shook his head, "Sonic will explain everything. He's saved us the trouble of searching for him."

"What?!" Charmy said, teary eyed, "But I want my Honey Candy!"

...No one said a word at that.

"_All right! My turn! Let's GO!_"

The group turned to the familiar voice (except to James) and saw a familiar blue ball being punched by the crystallized Golem. The blue ball then went through the lizard Golem's body like a bullet, making the Golem crumble into pieces. The crystallized Golem didn't stop there, though, since it started searching through its remains. Within seconds it took out a purple colored gem.

"Hey! The sixth Emerald! Nice going, Maria!" The blue hedgehog, who was actually the blue ball from earlier, say to the blue crystallized Golem, who was apparently female. The said Golem nodded as she gave the blue hedgehog the purple Chaos Emerald in response.

"Sonic!" Knuckles called out, catching the attention of the unlikely duo, "What are you doing here?"

"I was following her," Sonic pointed at the crystallized Golem, who was searching through the lizard's remains again, "She sensed a Chaos Emerald here. I didn't think it would be that accurate, though," His attention then turned to the human, "Who's he?"

"This is James," Espio answered, "He's helped us defeat a rock monster shaped like a clown earlier. We were originally going to take him to you."

"Eh? Why?"

"Because he needed help to search for someone," the chameleon ninja answered, "Well, two to be exact."

"And who would they be?" Sonic asked.

"It's..." James looked at the crystallized Golem--who was still looking through the lizard's remains--with an uncomfortable and doubtful look on his face before showing Sonic a photo to him, "...These two."

...

Sonic took the photo as his eyes widened.

It was a picture of Maria Robotnik making a peace with her left hand with Merhea wrapped around her right arm, and the small child also made a peace sign, with both of them smiling.

"This...!" Sonic then took a closer look at the human called "James", "Wait... You're...!"

"...Have you seen them?" James had a slightly hopeful look on his face.

"I... think it would be better... if we went back to Tails' workshop first," the blue hedgehog had a grave look on his face as he gave "James" back his photo, "But I can tell you one thing, you won't like it."

"What do you mean?" James asked uneasily as Knuckles and the Chaotix look confused.

"Just follow me," Sonic said, he then turned to his crystallized friend, "Hey! We're going back!"

Maria turned her attention away from the Golem's remains as she went to Sonic and the group. She then presented Knuckles something from her left hand.

"The rest of the Master Emerald pieces?!" Knuckles and the Chaotix were shocked, "So that Golem's been using the power of the Master Emerald shards! That's why we haven't been able to put much of a scratch on that thing!"

"And we've only got one more Chaos Emerald to find," Sonic said before turning to the direction leading back home, "Come on, we're going."

"...Ow..."

"What's wrong?" Sonic then turned to the injured "James".

"Sorry..." he coughed, "I think I broke a rib while fighting that thing..."

"All right, then. Maria," Sonic said to the crystallized Golem, "Help carry him. And 'James', don't resist."

Maria did as she was told and gently lifted the human off the ground before even more gently placing him against her back. After telling the Chaotix to follow him, Sonic and his friends disappeared from within the rocky walls and went back to Tails' workshop within a two hour's time.

...

"Ow..."

"Sorry about the bumpy ride, 'James'," Sonic said.

"It's all right," he sighed as Maria gently let him off her back, "I've been through things worse than this... At least... before _she_ came..."

_She?_ Sonic had another slightly grave look on his face. _Wait... C... Could he be...?_

"Sonic! Big Sis! You're back!" Everyone turned to the sound of the voice and saw the little girl named Merhea running up towards them. As soon as she turned to "James", however, she now had a shocked look on her face, as did "James" himself, "You're...!"

"...Merhea?" the girl in question nodded, "...Then... that means...!" he turned to the crystallized human, "Maria!" he placed his hands on each side of her masked crystallized face, with tears coming out from his left eye, "Maria! Is that really you?!"

"It's no use..." Merhea shook her head.

"What do you mean?!" he asked again.

"She... doesn't... remember you... at all..."

...

**(End of the Twentieth Crystal)**

...

**Authoress' Notes:** I know that this is short, but it has to. Otherwise, I'll give too much away. You should know who James actually is. If you don't then... wait for Crystal No. 21.

**References:** In case anyone doesn't know, the phrase "_At Sixes and Sevens_" is a common English idiom from the United Kingdom. It is used as a term of total confusion and disorder.

No matter what, you still have to wait till next month for the Twenty-first Crystal! Until then, later!


	21. A Small Musical Note, Temper, and Elda

Now we're back to Requiem of the Crystal Golem! (I sound like a darn advertisement...)

Anyways, on to the reviews! And there's only two? Where're are the others? Ah well.

**From ShadoeDragon91:** Another great chapter. Keep going. It is kind of sad that Maria could not remember James.

**My reply:** Glad you liked it. If you ask me, it's always saddening if a close friend can not remember you at all. It's capable of breaking one's heart.

**From C'est Un Monde de Mervielleux:** Nice :D  
I found some typos:  
Manic Maniac  
Winder Wonder

And this chapter has UNDER FIVVEE THOUSAND words, I see. Doesn't really matters to me, though.

Update soon!

**My reply:** Sorry about the typos, I was help asleep while checking them. I'll correct them later when I get the chance. I usually don't get as much time as I would like to anymore. And sorry about the fact that the previous Crystal had less than five thousand words (but it was only 500 short!), but hey, better than nothing, right?

I was originally going to post this on Halloween next Saturday, but I feared that I would forget, so I'll just post it now.

...

**The Twenty-First Crystal: A Small Musical Note, Temper, and Elda**

...

"W...What did you just say, Merhea?"

"I'm telling you that Big Sis doesn't remember you at all."

"You're lying, right?"

"No..."

The human boy had a shocked and grave look on his face as he looked at Maria in the eye, who slowly moved out of his grip and turned away from the group.

"Maria..." he placed a hand against the right side of his head, as he scratched his hair, Sonic saw something familiar. Hidden within his hair...

...were bandages covering his right eye and ear...

"...You're Jamie Bon Kudo, aren't you?" Sonic asked before he could stop himself.

"Eh?" The said person looked at him, surprised, "You know me?"

"Er... Merhea told me about you one time," Sonic quickly said. It was true, Merhea did mention about him one time in Soleanna, but that was it. The other times he's "seen" about him were inside of what seemed to be Maria's memories, "You're one of Maria's best friends, right?"

"Yeah, I am," Jamie nodded, "I first met her when she transferred to my school about four years ago."

"Wait," Espio looked at him suspiciously, "I thought you said that your name was James?"

"I did," Jamie said truthfully, "But 'James' is actually my _dad's_ name, so uh, sorry..." he trailed of as he then looked at Maria again, "Just... _what_ happened to her?"

"We don't know," Sonic shrugged as he shook his head, "We first met her five days ago and during that time, she already went on a fair few rampages. She goes on one every time a Chaos Emerald is nearby," he then saw Jamie's look of concern, "She gets used to it after a while, I think, but..."

"But what?"

"Oddly, she didn't go on a rampage this time," Sonic wondered, "And she only coughed a small amount of blood this time..."

"She coughs out blood?!" Jamie had a sickened expression on his face.

"Only whenever there's a Chaos Emerald nearby or when she pushes herself too hard," Merhea answered, though she didn't seem comfortable at the thought..

The Chaotix had no idea what Sonic and Merhea were talking about, they also did not know any known facts about Maria, including the crystallized state that she's in. Instead of interrupting for no apparent reason (as Espio forced Vector and Charmy to stay quiet), they listened to what they were saying in hopes of remembering a clue that could help.

"How did you get here, anyway, Jamie?" Merhea asked, "I mean, Big Sis and I somehow got here after we passed out in that old abandoned candy store."

"Then I got here the same way you did," Jamie folded his arms and nodded, "Only problem is: How do we get back? That's the thing I'm stuck on."

"That's the reason why we were searching for the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic explained, " To see if we can use a technique called 'Chaos Control' at it's maximum level in to see if we can send them back. We know the locations of six Emeralds out of seven so far. We have three of them, Shadow (I'll tell you about him later) has one, while our enemy named Dr. Eggman has two. And speaking of Eggman..." he trailed off, "I haven't heard from him recently."

"You don't think those Golems got to him, do you, Sonic?" Tails asked.

"That's a possible theory, but knowing him, he's probably out hiding or something," Sonic said absentmindedly, but in reality, he was truly worried about Eggman for once. Because if he was killed or suffered some kind of awful fate, then those Golems could've done something to get rid of the two Chaos Emeralds. If that were to happen, then Sonic would never be able to keep his promise to the older sister that Merhea had loved...

"Wait, hold on!" Merhea cut Sonic's thought off, "I thought only Big Sis and I knew about that secret entrance in that store!"

Jamie grinned as he placed a hand on Merhea's shoulder, "I can tell you one thing: _Never_ underestimate Jupiter."

"Who's Jupiter?" Knuckles asked.

"He's Lulubell's dog," Merhea said, "A Great Dane to be exact, he's around three years old, and has a good sense of smell for one. Hence his name, he's big! Jupiter's around my height actually!" she had an excited look before she realized something, "Wait... Speaking of which... where is he now?"

"Lulubell asked me to take him for a walk while she was being questioned with police, since she was the last person to actually see you and Maria before you guys disappeared. I sent him back home after I discovered that secret entrance in that alley behind the store, Maria's blood is still there. Jupiter was able to sniff it out easily because of that."

"Lulubell didn't get arrested, did she?!"

"No, she was only being questioned. She's not a suspect, but the three criminals that escaped the day before you two disappeared were."

"What happened to them anyway?" Merhea asked while shaking, much to everyone's (except Jamie and Sonic's) confusion, "One of them actually shot Big Sis and..." she trailed off again, "What about Lolita and Andy and maybe Kuro..."

"Everyone's fine," Jamie said as assuringly as he could, "But I have to say that Lulubell felt really guilty of leaving you two behind in front of the school. As for those criminals, they were caught the day after you guys disappeared. After you guys vanished, almost everyone in the school made a big fuss over it, especially Scarlet."

"Even Scarlet Hawkinson?" Sonic said before he could stop himself while the others gave him a strange look, with both Jamie and Merhea looking at him in surprise.

"You know about Scarlet?" Merhea asked surprised.

"Maria told me about her one time," Sonic said, "I was told that she was her rival or something..." _Pity I don't know her more, since I didn't see _her_ at all in those memory lanes. Meh_...

"Yeah, she was," Jamie nodded, "She would always compete with Maria during Gym Class, even though Maria doesn't seem to care about it..." he smirked at the thought. A moment later, he snapped out of it saying, "Sonic, I need you to tell me everything."

"Huh?" Sonic's ears moved down slightly.

"Tell me everything you've known about Maria in the form she is now," Jamie said with a serious look on his face, "Together with the clues I've managed to gather with yours, we may be able to find a way to save her."

Everyone had all their eyes on Sonic, which included the Chaotix, Amy, Tails, and the two humans. As for Maria, she just stood at the same spot she went to when she moved away from Jamie earlier, not paying attention to any of them, much to Sonic, Jamie, and Merhea's dismay. Sonic kept thinking about where to start at, such as what he should say and what he should not. Would it pose a threat to the lives of everyone here if he spoke about him seeing into Maria's memories? Or speaking about the fake Maria? He was at a loss...

"I... do know a few things, but..." Sonic chose his words carefully, "It's kinda hard to put them into words. And there are chances that you might not believe me."

"When it comes down to Maria, we'll need any clue we can get," Jamie said, "Tell me everything you know, and then I'll do the same."

Sonic was silent as he kept thinking to himself. Is there any other way? Giving in to the pressure that was was on his mind, Sonic took a deep breath as he tried to explain everything as thoroughly as possible. He told Jamie about the first day, the time when he first met Maria in her partial crystallized condition. Then came the second day, whereas Maria had been unconscious the entire time. The third day, when he first met Maria formally for the first time, and when Maria went on her first actual rampage, along with being reunited with Merhea. The fourth day, when they first came across the monsters known as Golems. Sonic and Maria were also kidnapped by that somewhat forgotten Puppet Golem and had escaped somehow due to those deadly bullets. They also went to Soleanna that day as well. They came across the Puppet Golem again later in the evening, only to have Maria destroy it sometime later again. The fifth day, they managed to return back to Tails' workshop (which where they are now). Maria had run off due to Amy calling her a monster, causing Sonic to go after her, thus obtaining another Chaos Emerald in the process. Hours later, Sonic then told about the time when Maria found him when he ran off for a short time before sensing the lizard Golem...

"...And after all of that, um..." Sonic didn't know whether he should mention about the fake Maria or his ability to somehow see into her memories. He finally decided that he should tell them another time, "We come across you."

"I see," Jamie had a worried look on his face as he looked at Maria again, "To think that she had to go through all of that. It's just too cruel..."

"I know," Sonic nodded.

"Of all people, why her...?" Jamie muttered, "And she already had enough burdens to go through back at home."

"Burdens?" Espio finally spoke.

"Maria would usually want to go through things her own way, even so," he took another deep breath, "She would often take the hit for others... or something like that. I really don't know why she chooses certain people to look after."

"How so?" the somewhat forgotten Amy asked.

"Well, when she first transferred to the school we go to..." Jamie stopped for a moment to think up the proper words, "...She helped me out from a few people that used to torment me. Such as this girl who knew karate, she was the first one Maria fended off by punching a dent into that girl's locker..." he trailed off as he had a cloudy expression on his face, "I mean, it's been almost three years since that incident and I still haven't gotten over it!" he crossed his arms and shook his head.

_Wait a second_... Sonic thought for a moment, but all of a sudden his mind forced him to speak against his will, "Didn't she record that with a camera for something?"

"Oh yeah, she did, bu-..." Jamie suddenly went silent, "Wait... how did you know that?"

"...Er..." Sonic had a blank look on his face before shaking his head, "Wh... huh?" he then scratched his head, "I really don't know..."

"Come to think of it," Tails suddenly spoke as he had a thinking look on his face, "Sonic's been acting strange ever since those Golems started appearing."

"Not to mention that he's been acting a lot like Big Sis as well," Merhea said, "I mean, he yelled at us in the same way she would earlier."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Sonic asked with a slightly angry look on his face.

"See?!" Merhea pointed at the blue hedgehog, "There's no mistake! The way it's said?! The tone?! Don't you think so, Jamie?!"

"Well... he does act like her, but..." Jamie pondered for a moment, "Doesn't everyone do that occasionally?"

Sonic didn't bother to pay attention any more. Instead, he silently moved over to Maria's side to see how she was doing. Not surprisingly, she only just stood near a familiar spot... it was the same one when the Robotnik sisters played their first and only song from their ocarinas. The blue hedgehog could've sworn that he could still the echoes from their soothing notes, despite being played just yesterday early in the morning before Maria and Sonic himself were kidnapped by that Puppet Golem... So much has happened to Maria within hours, which seemed like an eternity to Sonic and the others. Now that he looked into the horizon, he could see that the sun was already starting to set, meaning that tomorrow will be the sixth day. Sonic found it amazing, that Maria had turned into a crystalline being in such a short time. Still, he wouldn't let it sway him from the promise he made to her. He didn't care, no matter what, that he'll find a way to bring Maria, her sister Merhea, and now her forgotten friend, Jamie, back to their homeland.

The only thing that Sonic was concerned about the Golems was the way they behaved. Out of all the Golems he and Maria have gone up against, only one was known to randomly kill people, and that was the Puppet Golem that had killed a fair few in Soleanna. Now that he thought about it, all of the Golems they've come across so far have only attacked those associated with Sonic in some way. The only question is: Why?

His ears twitched as he heard Maria making a few grunts, but after hearing them a little more clearly, Sonic noticed that she was... whistling?

"_Hoo_..." she made a low note that sounded like her voice, but with a small tone of something otherworldly.

"Maria...!" a small tinge of excitement leapt into Sonic's throat, with his voice catching the attention of the others. Still excited at Maria's sudden sound, Sonic carefully grasped Maria's left shoulder, "She made... Come on, you can do it. Make another sound!"

"..._Haa_..." a slightly higher note was sung. She had a confused look on her face, and wondered what the sounds she was making were.

"You can do it, Maria!..." Sonic remained hopeful, "Come on!..."

"Sonic? What are you doing?" Merhea asked in curiosity, and was also slightly excited at the sound of Maria's voice, despite being weak.

"Don't you get it?" Sonic said, "This just shows that Maria's mind's not gone yet! We still have time to save her from this!"

"Yeah..." Jamie placed a hand on Maria's right shoulder and looked at her in the eyes, with the left being violet and the right being red, "Maria, although you may have forgotten me, I haven't. Once all of this is over, we'll get your memory returned, and we'll be able to go back," he smiled, "Your great aunt and uncle are waiting for you to come back home, they're worried sick about you."

"...E...mi..." she struggled to speak, "...Gu... Th...m..."

"So you haven't lost your voice after all, Big Sis..." tears welled up in Merhea's eyes as she embraced her sister, "Just hang in there, Big Sis! We'll find a way to turn you back!"

...

_I can barely hear her voice_...

_That boy... with the blue cloak... he's looks... familiar... do I... _know_ him...?_

"We'll find a way! I promise!" _That voice... Merhea...?_

"We only have one more Emerald to find. First, we need to regroup with Shadow ASAP. Once we do that, we're going to find Eggman!" _That's_... _yes_... _Sonic_...

_Good luck_...

...

Maria didn't respond at first, which caused the three near her look at her in concern. All of a sudden, her right crystallized arm gently touched Merhea's head.

"...G...d... L...c...k..."

Merhea smiled at her sister, "We'll do our best, Big Sis! You can count on it!"

The Chaotix-except Charmy, that is-seemed to have a better understanding of what was going on, since they've offered a helping hand, "Although we don't know what's going on, exactly," Vector said, "But we still have a client to help out here!" he gave Jamie a hearty slap on the back (which knocked some breath out of him) while laughing.

"I thank you, Vector," Jamie said as he regained his lost breath, "But I'm not going to be able to pay you for it since I don't know what this world's currency is."

"I could care less about that!" Vector laughed again, "After all, you saved our hides back then! I'll consider that as my payment!"

"Jamie saved you?" Tails asked suddenly.

"Oh, right!" Knuckles suddenly realized before pointing to Jamie, "I forgot to mention that he can also destroy Golems with his sword!"

"Really?!" both Sonic and Merhea said in response, before the blue hedgehog then asked, "Where did that sword come from anyway?"

"I don't know..." he looked at himself, "Now that you mention it, I only had my regular clothes on before I somehow got here. I passed out for almost no apparent reason as soon as I crawled through that secret entrance in the old candy store that Merhea mentioned earlier. When I woke up, I was garbed in this with this sword in hand," he unsheathed it to show everyone, even Maria seemed to have looked at it in slight interest, "I had to practice using it while hiding out in a castle in a city surrounded by water called Soleanna during the first day. After that, I left in hopes of searching for Maria and Merhea. And about two days later, I come across you guys."

"That's some story," Sonic thought out loud before realizing, "Hang on! We we're at Soleanna the day after you left!"

"Seriously?!" Jamie thought for a moment before having a look of realization on his face, "You're right... I can't believe I left that quickly. If I had stayed there for one more day, I might have told Maria about the time when..." he trailed off.

"I think the first thing she had forgotten about was you," Sonic said.

"What?" Everyone had confused looks on their faces.

"I remember that Maria was trying to recall something," he said, "During that time, she remembered her home, her great aunt and uncle, and her friends. When she tried to remembered something else, she lost it enough to the point that she cried."

"Speaking of which..." Merhea remembered, "She couldn't remember Mrs. Salleanna and Mr. James, either."

"Who are those two, by the way?" Sonic asked before Amy could, much to her annoyance.

"They're my parents," Jamie answered, "Though not many people believe that."

"Why?" Amy asked, beating Sonic this time.

"They're dark-skinned," Jamie shrugged as he scratched at the white bandage wraps covering the right side of his face while letting out a breath, "I inherited my pale skin from my dad's grandmother, who is the only pale-skinned member that married into the Kudo family as far as I know," he sighed at the thought of it, "A lot of my relatives rejected me because of that, they hated her for some reason even after she passed away shortly after I was born. As far as I know, only my parents and my dad's grandfather accepted me for who I was."

"What's Maria's interaction with them?" Knuckles asked as he raised a brow.

"They hated her, too," Jamie shrugged with a small grin on his face, "Since she took their chance of them gaining my great-grandfather's fortune and estate because-..."

Before Jamie could say anything else, Sonic wondered out loud, "Didn't she do that to save your mother from cancer?" Jamie froze as he stared at Sonic in disbelief, as did Merhea, "...What?" Sonic muttered before suddenly having yet another blank look on his face, "Wait... how do I know all of this, again...?" Sonic placed his hands against his head, he struggled to think, but couldn't for some reason.

"Sonic...?" Amy slowly reached her hand out to him, "Are you... okay?"

"Why...?" Sonic muttered before yelling, "_Why do I know things __**that I don't know?!?!**_" Everyone flinched at that, while the somewhat forgotten Charmy yelped in surprise.

"Sonic?" Tails tried to calm the said hedgehog down, "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"No..._no_..._**NO!!!**_" Sonic shook his head as he started to thrash about violently as he started to attack randomly.

"SONIC!!"

Knuckles tried to hold him down, but the hedgehog shook him off. It wasn't until, surprisingly, Maria held him down with her left hand. _**Hard**_. Knocking him out. No one said anything as they had witnessed the crystallized human knocking Sonic out. Instead of beating Sonic even more, Maria gently grabbed Sonic with her larger left hand, which was big enough to cradle him in. When Amy tried to get close, Maria growled, driving the others away, obviously stating that she does not want anyone to go near Sonic right now.

"She must've noticed that Sonic was going under some mental stress," Jamie mused, "That's just like her."

"Oh, yeah..." Merhea gave out a wry smile while laughing sheepishly, "I remember that she used crazy tactics to relieve us of stress in the past."

"Ah, right," Jamie laughed a little, "Remember the time when she did \/\/\/\/\/\/\/?"

"Heck yes, I have," Merhea smirked, "And I didn't forget when she \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ and /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ to Scarlet."

"Ahaha..." Jamie shook his head, "Oh, the humanity... To bad she couldn't do any of those crazy antics right now, she would've been able to make Sonic laugh easily."

"...What kind of twisted sister do you have there?" Charmy asked, for even he wouldn't do any of those crazy tactics that Maria would.

"One of a kind," both Jamie and Merhea said at once as they smirked, the older boy then spoke, "All right, it's getting close to nighttime, and we need to get Sonic someplace to rest in. Does anyone know of a good place?"

...

Darkness.

Sonic knew his eyes were open, but he was surrounded with nothing but darkness. A small grunt of annoyance escaped from his lips as he continued to stare into the pitch black darkness. Sitting up, Sonic could easily see himself, as if _he_ were the source of light for his eyes to take in.

"Hey!"

Sonic jumped at the familiar voice and looked at the familiar person in front of him.

"It's good to see you again, little boy!"

"Ma..." he began before stopping himself, remembering who it was, "You again, huh?" he had a small relieved smile, but it also showed some annoyance.

"Yep! It's me again!" the fake Maria said, "You don't mind me looking like this, right?"

"What?" it was then Sonic realized that she was wearing the same outfit Maria had worn when he first looked into her memories. The white shirt with a blue back and long sleeves, the blue jeans, even the red shoes with a yellow buckle and red-and-white velcro straps along with the familiar pair of glasses with the top part of the black frame being thick, "Uh..." Sonic trailed off, "Sure... at least I can tell the difference between Maria and you."

"Good!" the fake Maria said cheerfully before noticing Sonic's drawn look, "What's wrong? You're not happy to see me again?"

"It's not that," Sonic shook his head as he had a small sad smile, "She can still sing a few notes. Maria's not gone yet."

"Hmm," she smiled, "I bet that's because..." she gently placed her cool hands against the sides of his head while looking at each other face to face, "...you stayed by Maria's side no matter what. She does think of you as a little brother after all."

"I know," Sonic nodded in agreement as he place a hand against hers, "I'm just glad that she remember Merhea at least. I don't know about her other friends, but I'm sure that she still remember Emilia and Thomas."

"You're getting smarter, Sonic," she smiled as Sonic felt a little better from the mental stress he had earlier.

"I have a few things to ask, though," Sonic spoke.

"Ask away," the fake smiled.

"What can I call you?"

"What you want to call me?" the fake Maria went into thought, "You can call me... Elda. That's my oldest name."

"Elda?" Sonic raised a brow, "And what do you mean that it's your oldest names?"

"I can barely remember it myself," the fake Maria now referred to as Elda said, "Some of my other names are Anju, Cynthia, Zelda... and of course, Maria, but you know she's not me, so you can call me..." she gently touched Sonic's nose, "...Elda."

"I see..."

"Anything else you want to ask me?"

"Ah, right...!" Sonic then asked, "What is this place, exactly?"

"This is your subconscious," Elda said, "You have seen some of Maria's memories, along with having some of her knowledge," she raised a finger while pointing at nothing in particular, "However, this can also be one's land of _fantasy_... or a land of _nightmares_."

"And what land are in _now?_" Sonic asked while taking in the new information.

"Nowhere right now," she shrugged, "But I guess we'll come across something if we don't just stand here."

"Oh, right," Sonic realized as he started walking forward with the fake-... no... _Elda_ following, "...Elda?"

"Yes?"

"You said that you had previous names, before," Sonic counted something with his fingers, "Did that mean that they also looked like Maria?"

"No, they don't," Elda shook her head, "They all look completely different, even _my_ original appearance looked different, though... I can't exactly remember what _I_ _looked_ like. I only take on the appearance of the person I'm bound to with."

"How are you bound to her? And more importantly, why?"

"You'll need to figure that out on your own," Elda said with a serious expression on her face, "For some reason, I can't speak it. I'm still trying to find a way around this, though. I would write it to you, but I can only touch certain things that are solid, including you, for everything else... my hands just go right through them," she sighed, "It's kind of annoying, really. I mean, with Maria this far along in her crystallization, I can't possess her to write anything."

"You possessed her?" Sonic asked as they kept walking forward.

"Only twice," she sighed, "Unfortunately, _she_ ended up somehow possessing that black hedgehog before _I_ could do anything."

"So you were the one that caused that!" Sonic was shocked at the new piece of info before realizing, "You were only trying to do that in order to leave us a warning about all of this, right?"

"Yes," Elda said solemnly, "The first time I did it was during the time when Maria was sleeping in her home world, but she has a strong will even in her dreams. I tried to take control, but because I was weak, and that she didn't want anyone to possess her without a fight, she forced me out. She managed to help that black hedgehog escape from that scientist's lab, but it caused me to fail on my part of leaving you a warning about all of this."

"And the second time?" Sonic waited for Elda's response.

"I somewhat succeeded on that one," Elda smiled, "And that was to tell the others into coming to Soleanna to get you."

"I'm grateful for that," Sonic smiled a little before he noticed something up ahead, "Hey, what is that?"

"I think that's... Well, what do you know!" Elda had an excited look on her face as she looked at what seemed to be a puddle of many images, "This memory of Maria's takes place at the end of her first school day with that boy!"

"You mean Jamie?"

"Yup! What are you waiting for? Let's check it out!" With that said, she gently picked up Sonic's light frame and jumped into the puddle of images.

...

"Well, this was bit of a wacky day..."

Elda, with Sonic still in her arms, had just landed gently to the school floors with Jamie next to them as he searched through his locker while sighing a little. He still had the same clothes on the last tome Sonic saw him.

"First a girl threatens me, and now I end up being saved by an even _stronger_ one," Jamie muttered to himself as he shuddered, "Man... I don't want to get on Maria's bad side... I never would've thought that she actually had a _camera_ with her to record all of that..." he continued mumbling to himself after closing his locker, "Well... at least that other girl won't bother me for a while. Now I just need to watch out for her _boyfriend_."

"Eh?" Sonic looked at Jamie's past self in slight confusion.

"He's not interested in that girl at all," Elda answered, "They're just people known to bully others, never really found out why, though. Since Maria didn't bother to investigate that."

"Any idea where she is?"

"She's right there hiding in that corner," Elda pointed to the left, sure enough, Maria can barely be seen as she was watching Jamie from afar.

"Why is she following him?" Sonic asked.

"Although she didn't show much emotion when they first met," Elda explained, "She wanted to make sure that Jamie would get through the rest of the day safely," she then watched the said boy leave, "Come on, there's nothing else to see here. We need to go forward to the next day."

"...So you were the one that altered the time here," Sonic muttered.

"Indeed, but you got into these memories on your own," the area suddenly went darker than usual, and of course, the familiar ticking sound came, "Only this time, we're going to see exactly how Maria had opened up to him, you've seen them together before, haven't you?"

"Well, yes, but..." Sonic couldn't think properly as the images continued to swirl until it stopped. When he looked around, he discovered that they were outside the school they were in earlier until he saw the person they were watching, "There's Jamie!"

"And it's time to go to Maria's house," Elda muttered, "There are some events that Maria doesn't know exactly how they happen, so we can't follow him," she looked around until she spotted another familiar person, "Well, speak of the devil! There she is!" she said with a grin. With a giggle, she continued to carry Sonic in her arms as she followed the fourteen-year-old Maria Robotnik walking towards a dark blue truck in the school car line with her great uncle inside.

"You can put me down," Sonic said, "I can walk, you know."

"That may be so," Elda sighed as she jumped into the truck's cargo box without making a sound, much less making the truck shake, "But there isn't enough room for us to fit into the truck itself, and it's not good for you to get into contact with Maria inside. Plus, I doubt you'll be able to maintain solid footing in this thing like I can."

Sonic slowly reached his hand towards the metal surface that they were standing on. True enough, his hand went right through. The thought of falling through solid ground made him a little nervous about it. Because of this, he had no choice but to trust Elda's words. So far, she didn't look like she was lying about anything. He then remembered, "But the first time I looked into Maria's memory, I was inside a car just fine. I only had to walk through the door to get out."

"Note the word _'inside'_," Elda said, "We're _outside_ of the truck's main area."

"Oh, right..." Sonic realized with an embarrassed look on his face, "My bad," Elda only laughed a little in response as the truck started to move.

The truck continued to move as they left the school grounds. When they reached the highway, Sonic was awed by all the buildings that were Maria's hometown. There was a large fast food building with a few giant food props on the roof (which Elda stated that Maria's not too fond of that place) one side of the road with a small supermarket located next to it. After a few seconds he saw many car shops neatly lined along, which sold both old, used, and new cars alike. Sonic could even recognize some of them, a few old Porches were there, along with some trucks with off-wheelers on them, and many other kinds. There was also a few banks and some other grocery stores and gas stations. With all these stores around, Sonic wondered how far away they actually live from the school.

"There's the area where Maria's home is at," Elda said as she pointed to a mountain-like hill where a few homes can barely be seen due to the trees.

"Oh," Sonic still looked at the roads and mountains in awe, "This is nothing like Station Square, not with all these mountains around."

"Welcome to Maria's world, Sonic."

After crossing a bridge over a lake (which Sonic also stared at for a few seconds), the truck turned left from a road as it entered the residential area. It turns out that there were many homes hidden beneath the trees. After staring above at the branches within the foliage passing above them, Sonic then inspected the homes and tried to guess which one Maria's could be. A green one... Sonic shook his head. A white house with a black door... Sonic shook his head. A purple-red striped house with it's door being black with orange polka dots... Sonic raised a brow at that and wondered what the homeowner (if not home**owners**) was thinking, but ultimately decided to disregard that in the end.

"Odd house, I know," Elda shrugged, as if she read Sonic's mind, "But the members in the Marker family are known into celebrating Halloween every year, I'm sure you've heard of the holiday. Eventually, painting the house so often each year became bit of a hassle, so they just left it like that."

"Understandable, now that you mention it," Sonic then looked at the other homes that went on by, "You know which house Maria's is, so can you give me a hint?"

"It's right there," she pointed at a red brick house with a crimson red door while the truck pulled up onto its driveway seconds after.

"Well..." Sonic muttered to no one in particular as he chuckled to himself, "Guess I lost the game."

"Very funny," Elda raised a brow in amusement as the truck was shut off by the driver, who was Thomas, Maria's great uncle.

"By the way," Sonic asked, "Why does Maria call them 'great' aunt and uncle?"

"Thomas is her mother's biological uncle. She's their great-niece, or grand-niece I should say to be more specific."

"Oh."

Sonic was still in Elda's arms before she jumped out of the truck. Looking at the ground for a moment, she gently let Sonic touch his feet against the driveway pavement; thankfully, it was solid to him. Satisfied with this, Elda let Sonic out of her arms as he was on his own two feet.

"So..." the old man named Thomas began, "How was your second day at school?"

"Hm..." Maria had an emotionless look in her eyes, "Nothing much, unless you count being bugged by the karate team. They want me to join them while saying something about finally winning tournaments and whatnot after that dumb event from yesterday..."

"I see," her old relative raised an eyebrow at this, "Knowing you, you politely declined."

"Yep," she shrugged, "I have to spend time with Merhea. Otherwise... I'll be considered as a bad sister for her."

"I understand," Thomas smiled before having a slightly humored look on his face, "Still, I can't believe that you made even the principal speechless about the fact that you were able to catch _his own daughter_ bullying an innocent boy, you even had the evidence to _prove_ it."

"I brought the camera with me by accident, okay, Uncle?" Maria said as she showed some emotion with an eyebrow raised, "It was switched on by chance."

"Hey, you know what they say: Accidents can lead to discoveries."

"...Can't argue with you on that," Maria sighed a little as she and her uncle went inside the house.

"We're not going in?" Sonic asked.

"We can't," Elda placed her foot on one of the porch's footsteps, only for it to go right through, "It's not solid for us right now. If I can't go through it, neither can you."

"So what do we do now?"

"We wait."

"Uh... Wait for what?"

"...You know what? You're right. Waiting for about an hour won't do us any good," Elda twirled a finger, causing the area around them to turn dark (which surprised Sonic), only to turn back to normal a few seconds later, "There, that's more like it. Hm... Looks like that old man left somewhere," true to Elda's words, Sonic noticed that the blue truck from earlier was missing.

"So what are we wai-..." Sonic then noticed a familiar person walking on the side of the asphalt road, "Isn't that Jamie?" he took a closer look, "It _is_ him, but what's he mumbling about?" he walked up closer to him (with Elda following) and saw that Jamie had his hand on the same spot on his left cheek just below his eye where he had that bruise from earlier, and he was limping a little, too.

"Ow..." he moved his left hand, which made Sonic see that the same wound was bleeding, even more evidenced on his palm, "Of all times I had to run out of bandages," Jamie grunted in pain to himself, "And this cut was almost done healing too..."

"Mister?"

Sonic looked behind him and saw that Merhea appeared seemingly out of nowhere, which surprised him and Jamie both (Elda, however, seemed to have expected it). She wore a white shirt with red overalls and white sneakers, in her hand was a blue watering can shaped like a cartoony elephant.

"Ah...!" she pointed at the wound on Jamie's face, "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Uh... um, not really, but..." Jamie was cut off as Merhea took his right hand.

"Come on!" Merhea smiled in a childish manner, "My house is right there! Big Sis'll give a bandage for that! Come on!"

"Um, really, you don't need to...!" apparently, Jamie didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings, so he went with her anyway. Plus, to Sonic, it wouldn't hurt to get a bandage for a wound like that. Within seconds, Merhea led the older boy to the front porch as she reached for the knob.

"You don't need to worry about Big Sis," Merhea said as she turned the knob, opening the door in the process, "She's really nice, she'll help you if I ask."

"Okay, we can go in the house now," Elda said as she grabbed Sonic's arm and ran through a nearby wall. Within seconds they were inside while Jamie looked around the house a little nervously.

After Merhea closed the door, she started shouting up the stairway as Sonic and Elda watched, "Big Sis! Can you come down here? We need a bandage! Big Sis!" Only silence responded as Jamie blinked a few times, "She's probably up in the art room again, she normally locks herself up in there," she shouted again, "Big Si-...!"

"_I hear you, Merhea! I'm just trying to find the first-aid box! Just gimme a minute!_"

Everyone but Elda were startled as they heard an annoyed shout from upstairs, but Merhea didn't seem to react as much as the others.

"That voice sounds familiar..." Sonic heard Jamie mutter to himself as everyone heard the sounds of footsteps from above.

"All right, Merhea, what did you do to yourself this time?"

"Eh...?!" Jamie froze as he saw Maria coming down with a first-aid kit in hand. Still shocked, "Maria Robotnik?!"

"Do you know him, Big Sis?" Merhea asked, surprised from Jamie's reaction.

"Yes, I do," Maria said as she raised an eyebrow while Sonic saw that there was some blue paint on her forehead, "He's a classmate."

"She's your _sister?_" he still looked at the two in disbelief, since the two don't look that much alike.

"Merhea's adopted," Maria said with almost no emotion.

"Oh... uh... sorry," Jamie swallowed nervously as Maria noticed the cut.

"All right, we're getting that cut cleaned up. Come with me," as Maria grabbed Jamie's left arm, he winced, causing Maria to stop for a moment before leading him to the kitchen with Merhea following, "Take off your backpack," she said in a slightly commanding manner as Jamie obeyed. She then made him sit on a fairly wide stool with tall legs, enough for her examine the wound on his face. Wetting a small paper towel, she raised a brow at it as she carefully wiped the blood off, which was a bit futile as new blood started coming out from the cut. Seeing this, she wetted a new paper towel and made Jamie press it against his wound while Maria searched for disinfectant and a bandage.

"How long have you been living here?" Jamie suddenly asked, apparently not liking the silence that even the usually talkative Merhea stayed quiet.

"Three months," Maria answered almost instantly as she started putting disinfectant on the wound, which stopped bleeding, "Now hold still, this'll sting a little."

Jamie did as he was told until Maria placed a fresh bandage on the wound, "T...Thank you."

"Merhea," Maria turned to her sister while ignoring the thanks, "In the upstairs bathroom in the bottom-rightmost cabinet is a large silver-colored bowl. Grab that and a washcloth along with the largest towel you can find. Bring the cordless phone as well."

"Okay, Big Sis!" Merhea said happily as she quickly left, not questioning Maria's request.

Making sure that Merhea is gone, Maria turned to Jamie, "Take off your sweater."

"Eh?!" Jamie had an embarrassed look on his face while Sonic and Merhea were surprised.

"I said take it off," Maria crossed her arms.

"W-what are you going to do?!" Jamie shuddered a little.

"You can't fool me, Kudo," Maria said as she called him by his last name, "I know you have other wounds, now take off your sweater so I can treat them. Do you want them to get infected?"

"..." Jamie didn't say a word as he reluctantly did as Maria said. He tenderly pulled each sleeve out before taking it off altogether, thus exposing his actually slender frame. However...

"I knew you had other wounds, but this?" Maria had a slightly disgusted look on her face as she saw many cuts and bruises from, which shocked Sonic as well. What really got Maria's attention was a fairly long laceration across his chest. After she examined them carefully, "All wounds except this one came from blunt trauma, this one was cut by a knife," she then had a serious look on her face as her eyes narrowed, "Who did this?"

Jamie didn't say anything.

"Big Sis, I got the stuff you asked for!" Merhea suddenly appeared with the silver large bowl, a small white washcloth, a large green towel, and a gray-and-white cordless phone, the three items that Maria had asked for.

"Thank you," Maria smiled a little as she patted her little sister's shoulder, "I need you to look after him for a moment, I need to talk to Uncle," she then draped the towel over Jamie's shoulders, "I'll be back in a few minutes. Merhea, get the bowl filled with warm water, okay?" before she was asked any questions, Maria already started dialing, "Yes, Uncle? It's me. You see, I need to see if you can..." Maria then went outside.

"What's Maria up to now?" Sonic asked.

"You'll see later," Elda answered, "You see, Maria wasn't like the person she was when you first met her," she smiled a little sadly, "There are just some things that even I don't know about."

"Are you okay, mister?" Merhea asked with a worried look on her face as she grabbed a step stool.

"It's Jamie," he said as he shifted his weight uncomfortably, "And I'm fine, at least my face feels better thanks to... her."

"Please don't be afraid of her," Merhea said as she started to turn the sink's faucet to warm water, "She's... just a little lonely."

"Lonely?" Jamie raised a brow, "But aren't you her sister?"

"Yeah, but..." Merhea then started filling the large bowl with warm water, "I really don't know what wrong with her, she's been like that as far as I've known her."

"...I see," Jamie gently wrapped the towel around himself, "This... is the first time that anyone... ever noticed these wounds."

"Don't underestimate Big Sis," Merhea said as she washed her hands, "She's real smart when it comes down to this kind of thing."

As Sonic continued watching them talk, he and the others heard the front door open.

"All right, Uncle," Maria said to the phone, "Make sure you get them ready, I'll call you again in about ten to twenty minutes. Yes, yes, I'll take responsibility, I'm the one who suggested this, you know. Okay, bye," she then hung up the phone as she dipped her finger in the water, "Perfect! Nice job on the water, Merhea!" she then took off the towel Jamie had around him before taking out a dish towel from a nearby cabinet and dipped in in the bowl, "First, we need to clean that cut on your chest," she then took out the bottle of disinfectant from earlier and carefully dabbed a corner of the wet dish towel into the bottle, "This will sting a little, but bear with it," Sonic watched in awe at the precision that Maria used into cleaning any dirt from Jamie's laceration, the injured boy winced a little more than once, but Maria wasn't annoyed by it, for she most likely understood his pain.

"Can I help, Big Sis?" Merhea asked.

"...Fine," Maria then started cleaning the wounds on Jamie's back, "Get the bandage wraps from the kit," Merhea did as she was told and took out a large roll of bandage wraps and handed them out to Maria, who in response grabbed it as she started to tenderly put gauze with disinfectant over the laceration while wrapping his chest with the bandage wraps. Placing medical tape on the end of the wrap, Maria went upstairs.

"What is she up to now?" Jamie asked, feeling a lot better after the treatment.

"I've no idea," Merhea shrugged as the said person came right back with a large red sweater.

"This is one of Uncle's old sweaters," Maria said, "It's a little big, but it should fit you just fine," she then grabbed Jamie blue sweater, which had a muffler-like neck, "I'll wash this for you tonight, so I'll give it back to you tomorrow. That okay with you?"

"Uh... sure," Jamie said as he then put the red sweater on, "It is a little big, but it'll do. Um... Thank you..."

"All right, all right," Maria then pointed to the door, "I've wasted about half an hour with you, so you better head on home."

"Uh... Head on home, you say...?" a small bead of sweat formed on the side of his head, "Yeah... I guess I have to... Um... thank you again... for helping me yesterday... and today..."

"Don't worry about it," Maria gave him his backpack, "Now go home."

"...Okay..." Jamie muttered, before he left, however, "Merhea..." he turned to the younger girl, "Thanks for your kindness," he smiled a little before he left the house. Merhea then broke the silence after that.

"That person... named Jamie," Merhea looked up at Maria, who was cleaning up, "He looks like he's hurting a lot..."

"Are you worried about him?" Maria said as Sonic looked up at Elda, who smiled and nodded while placing a hand against his shoulder. The hedgehog then saw Merhea nod in response.

"Good," Merhea had a surprised look on her face in response to her sister's word, "Because I'm already taking care of it right now," she took out a small black and blue cell phone as she dialed, "Hey Uncle, it's me again. Yeah, I can tell from his expression, they're most likely there. We'll be going now. Talk to you later. Bye."

"We're going somewhere?" Merhea asked.

"Not really," Maria said as she cracked her knuckles, "But you want to help that Kudo kid, right?"

"...Yeah!" Merhea smiled at her, "Big Sis, you're the best! Thank you!"

Sonic smiled at Merhea's behavior, then again, she's only a little kid. He looked up at Elda again as she squeezed his shoulder a little, "We'll be seeing the finale of this soon, so we'll go on ahead."

"All right," Sonic nodded while Elda started to make time flow faster once again as the world suddenly turned darker.

_TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...! TICK...! TOCK...!_

"Here we are Sonic," Elda muttered as she made the ticking stop, "You might be disgusted by this, but..."

"_**Stop it!**_"

Sonic looked behind him, and to his horror he saw Jamie getting beaten by five boys around his age, along with two girls laughing at him as he writhed in pain.

"You better shut up!" a taller boy that had a muscular build while wearing a few rings say as he grabbed Jamie by the red sweater, "It's _your_ fault that my _girlfriend_ got _**suspended!**_" It was then Sonic realized that this person must the "boyfriend" of the principal's daughter that Jamie was trying to avoid.

"I didn't do anything!" Jamie said honestly before getting punched in the stomach.

"Don't lie to me, you piece of filth! You wanna fight back?!" the taller bully said as one of the boys behind them take out a pocket knife.

"I...I got someone... to beat you all..." Jamie muttered.

"Huh?" he shook his head as if Jamie was bluffing, "Yeah, right. Like anyone's going to believe that!"

"Don't make us laugh," one of the girls said, "What's your little buddy gonna do about it? Does he have a toy sword? Or maybe a squirt gun?" everyone laughed at this until she screamed in pain. The other seven looked behind them as they saw Maria holding her down by the hair.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but..." she pulled harder, "Who are you calling 'he' now, hmm?" After asking, she stomped on the girl's back against the dirt ground, "And just because you're a girl... doesn't mean I'll go easy on you."

"What is this?!" the one who was beating Jamie let the said boy go as he faced Maria, "What are you doing here?!"

"So this is the guy, eh?" Maria ignored him as she quickly looked at his features, "I see, the lowest there is."

"What did you say?!" the muscular bully charged at her while the other six smirked, since they're about to get revenge for the girl Maria took down earlier.

...or so they thought.

Maria easily dodged before kicking him hard in the back.

"I've seen stronger people than this back in the South," Maria said in a bored tone, "Despite your muscles, you're weak!"

"Ergh... Don't..." he then took out a pocket knife with it's blade already out, "_**Don't toy with me!**_" everyone else became angered by this as they took out their own knife... And the second girl had a handgun with her.

"This is bad..." Sonic shuddered.

"Don't worry," Elda smirked, "This'll be over soon."

Maria ignored the others as she then stomped on her opponent's right arm, making him drop the pocket knife.

"You better stop or I'll shoot you!" the second girl said while the first was starting to get up, "This is eight against one!"

"All I see here are _sissies!_" Maria said with a irritated look on her face, "You guys here have weapons in hand and here I am with just bare hands. You're all weak compared to what I've gone up against back in the South!

_What has Maria gone up against in the past?! _Sonic thought to himself as an eyebrow twitched a little with another twitch on the side of his mouth.

"And what does a moron like you have anything to say about that?!" she said.

Sonic then remembered something, "Uh... oh..." he had a humored smile as he and Elda saw Maria snap. Maria, who hated being called a moron, performed the one move that Sonic had not seen in a while. The Comical Beating and Rants of Doom.

"Oh, I see!" Maria dashed as she grabbed the second girl's handgun and threw it at her head with an insanely angry look on her face, "So you call me a moron, huh?! When someone call someone a moron, they're morons!" Maria then pulled the girl's hair, enough to the point of tearing a fair bit off, making her scream in pain, "Do good, get good! Do bad, get bad enough so that the punishment will get you in the long run!" she then kicked the second girl off her feet, making her fall on her back against the dirt road. She then glared at the others while having an insane smirk, "Who else wants a piece of me?"

"This is still eight against one!" the leader who had beaten Jamie earlier said.

Maria raised a brow, "...Idiot, who said I was alone?" she then shrugged as six police cars and an ambulance came out of what seemed to be from nowhere as sirens blared.

"Oh no, it's the cops!"

"This is the police!" one of the officers said as she held out her handgun and her police badge, "You're under arrest for battery and disorderly conduct! Surrender now and we won't have to shoot!"

The five remaining boys tried to escape, but apparently other officers were hiding out as they suddenly blocked their escaping paths. The leader and the two girls that Maria had beaten earlier were cuffed with little to no resistance. Jamie, who was almost forgotten, was approached by paramedics from the ambulance. While the medics were stating comments about his new injuries and how Maria had treated the then older ones, they gently placed him on a stretcher before taking him to the ambulance. It was then Jamie had noticed Maria.

"W-Wait!" Jamie suddenly cried, catching Maria's attention.

"Need something?" Maria said as she brushed her hair away from her face.

"How did...? Why...?" Jamie spoke again, "Why did you come here...? And how did you know about...?"

"Like I said yesterday, Jamie Bon Kudo," Maria closed her eyes, "The wound itself speaks."

"Nobody..." Tears started to flow from Jamie's left eyes, causing the paramedics to look concerned as the police officers drove away, "Nobody noticed my wounds... no one helped me..."

Maria pushed her glasses against her face, "Thank Merhea, not me."

With those final words, Maria watched medics close the doors on the ambulance and drove away.

"I wonder what she meant by... that the wound itself speaks..." Sonic wondered as the ambulance disappeared into the horizon.

...

**(End of the Twenty-First Crystal)**

...

**Authoress' Notes:** The timeline of RotCG has been explained, since I figured that it would be confusing for you. And the fake Maria finally has a name, which is Elda. The reason of Maria possessing Shadow has come to be, and the CBRD finally makes a reappearance... sort of. You might know what Maria meant by "The wound itself speaks", but if you don't, you'll find out anyway in the next Crystal.

In case anyone doesn't know, Maria used to live a few states south of where she's living in now, hence her saying things like "Back in the South." This is where she also obtained her immense if not brute strength, how she did so is still a mystery (and I intend to keep it that way for now).

And just so you know, when Merhea and Jamie were mentioning "past events" as "\/\/\/\/\/\/\", that was deliberately done. Since there are so many things that Maria had done that it was too hard to choose which. So you could try guessing what Maria had done. Have fun with your imagination!

In case anyone is curious, Kuro is one of Maria's friends. You can see a picture of him with some others in my DeviantART page.

**References:** The quote that Jamie and Merhea have said to answer Charmy's question "What kind of twisted sister do you have there?" with the answer "One of a kind" is a reference to the first _Shrek_ movie. When Princess Fiona asks Shrek what kind of night was he, Shrek responded the same way as Jamie and Merhea did.

The names that Elda mentioned earlier (Anju, Cynthia, and Zelda) were prototype names for both her and Maria. Maria's name was originally a joke, but the name stuck on her afterwards.

The tacky Halloween house was a loose reference to an actual house that I saw somewhere while traveling to visit relatives. On my way to see one of my cousins, I saw a purple house with a green roof from afar. When I saw it, I thought of numerous possibilities as of why it would have those colors, so I thought up the Halloween one as a joke. And I couldn't resist into adding that in here.

I hope you guys enjoyed this Crystal, see you next month!


	22. Struggle

Sorry that I missed November's update, I was pretty busy with other things. Anyways, this Crystal's fairly short, but it's better than nothing. Speaking of which, I wonder how many reader are still here? One? Maybe two...? Oh well, anyways, thanks for waiting.

By the way, if you hadn't noticed, there's a fair few word blanks in this story now due to some weird "auto-correction"-like program. Because of this, the "Super" something word from Mary Poppins is no longer shown, **much to my annoyance.** I'll try to find a way to fix this, if I can't, then sorry. I really am.

Anyways, the reviews

**From ShadowDragon91:** Another great chapter. I especially liked the part where Maria fought against the bullies who were harming Jamie, I kind of smirked at that. Anyway, keep going on this wonderful story of yours.

**My reply: **Thanks. Just so you know, Maria has her own style of fighting. In this case, she specializes in using brutal strength in cunning ways. You know that there are those stories in which the boy is stronger is stronger? In this case, Maria (the girl) is the stronger one. I primarily did this to make her stand out more.

**From C'est Un Monde de Mervielleux:** OMG Zelda D:

_Question 1:_ Did the candy santa A.K.A Santa Sweet keep a magic portal in the Sweet Lane?

Oh, and you updated quite faster than you used to be. Nice job on this chapter!

**My reply:** Ah, you got the Zelda joke? Good eye you've got there, I'll admit. And to answer your question about Santa Sweet: Maybe? To be honest, I hadn't thought about that. Well, to satisfy you anyway, let's just say that his Sweet Lane was built there by coincidence. I guess that's the best answer.

_Question 2:_ Wait a second, so Maria S. Robotnik has nothing to do with Maria Robotnik?

**Answer:** No, Maria S. R.'s name was originally a joke name for her, but the name stuck afterwards. The Maria Robotnik in Sonic's world is basically my Maria's namesake. Nowadays, I just refer my Maria as "Maria S. R." They still stand for "Shadow" and "Robotnik" respectively, but it's now rarely used in full term whenever I use her name in DeviantART.

All of this aside, enjoy this short Crystal as an early Christmas present. Speaking of which: **_Merry Christmas and Happy 2010!_**

...

**The Twenty-Second Crystal: Struggle**

...

"That's some story."

"I know, it's not everyday we hear stories like that."

Jamie told everyone a little about himself and how Maria had affected his life, who were Tails, Amy, and Merhea, as well as the Chaotix (including Knuckles). All of them were inside of Vanilla and Cream's house as the the mother rabbit served everyone food for the late evening while Jamie told his part.

"You must have had a hard time when you found out that Maria and Merhea went missing," Vanilla said solemnly.

"Yeah, it really hit me hard," Jamie said as he slowly ate some bread without his brown gloves on, "I couldn't even concentrate on my studies back in school," he looked behind him and saw that Maria was still staying next to Sonic, who was still unconscious while lying against the sofa with a white pillow and red blanket with a damp washcloth on his forehead.

"I'm just glad we were able to get Big Sis in here," Merhea said, "Because in the past, she didn't want to come back here out of concern of people attacking out of fear."

"Cloaks can do that," Jamie sipped a plastic cup of his water with his blue cloak draped on the back of his chair, "Just by covering most of her body, especially her left arm, it wasn't that much of a problem," he shuddered, "I don't want Maria to go through any more pain caused by others."

"G.U.N. has become quite an unnecessary obstacle," Espio said as he ate some beef jerky from his plate. On the way to Vanilla's residence, the others had told him and the rest of the Chaotix about the whole situation. With the knowledge in hand, he then said, "There's been quite a few G.U.N. drones patrolling the city lately. I wonder if they're beginning to notice those monsters coming around."

"I'll say," Amy agreed as she sighed, "And I _still_ haven't forgiven them blaming Sonic during the ARK incident," she sighed again at the thought of Sonic pacing impatiently in the jail he was kept in while on the long-destroyed Prison Island.

"You know them," Knuckles said while eating a few grapes, "If they find anything that _looks_ like a threat, they destroy it."

"Still..." Tails trailed off as Cream and Cheese looked at him in concern, "That aside, I wonder what caused Sonic to go insane? It's not like him to do that."

"Something tells me that he didn't tell us everything," Jamie nodded before then thinking out loud, "Still... we need all the info we can get if we want to save Maria. And since Sonic's involved, we need to help him, too."

"You know, now that I think about it..." Merhea trailed off.

"What is it?" the older teen asked.

"Remember when Sonic that we might not believe him?" Merhea asked, "Maybe whatever Sonic knows must be so bizarre that it's probably hard for even him to believe."

"I just hope that Mr. Sonic will get better soon," Cream turned and saw Sonic still lying against the couch with Maria on guard, "Because Miss Maria is beginning to scare me..."

"I forgot to mention that Sonic yelled at us for that," Amy said, "I haven't even apologized to Sonic yet. He's right, though... we really shouldn't be afraid of her, yet... We couldn't help it..."

...

"Are you ready to see what happens next, Sonic?"

Sonic nodded, still wondering what Maria meant by "the wound itself speaks". Then again, she has been known to say odd things.

Elda, the so-called fake Maria, twisted her hands as made the passage of memory's time change again. Images swirled about as she held Sonic's hand to keep him from falling into the nothingness that's hiding in the images. When the images stopped, the two of them looked up and saw that they were in front of a large gray-brown building around thirty stories tall with a red cross prop on the building as a neon light.

"This is one of the best local hospitals existing in Maria's homeland," Elda said as she then started walk forward with Sonic following, "This took place two days after the fight that Maria interfered in."

"So Jamie's in there right now?" Sonic asked as he and Elda entered inside the large building.

"Yes," she said as she spotted a familiar group of people and grinned, "...And look who's here." Sonic looked ahead of Elda and saw Maria, along with Merhea and her two old relatives.

"Big Sis, you're not going to see him?" Merhea asked.

"There's no reason for me to do so," Maria said as she crossed her arms, "I only helped him to make you happy, nothing more."

"Even so, Maria," the old Emilia said, "His parents are there, at least let them thank you for helping their son."

_Jamie's parents are here?_ Sonic questioned in his mind. Strangely, Elda didn't answer, because she usually acts like a mind reader during situations like this.

"...Fine," Maria said as she then walked to a nurse in the nearby reception desk, "Miss? I need you to tell me which room a person named Jamie Bon Kudo is located."

"Kudo? Um, let's see..." the nurse with short black hair while wearing a cap with a red plus, "He's in Room... 227."

"Thank you," Maria nodded a little as she went to a nearby elevator with her family following. Elda, who was still holding on to Sonic's hand followed as well.

Watching Maria press the number "2" on the elevator wall, the double doors closed before the machine itself started to move upward. When Sonic managed to get a closer look at Maria and her family, they wore slightly different clothes. Maria's attire was composed of dark blue jeans, along with a red shirt going over a white long sleeved one. Her dark red-brown hair reaching down to the bottom of her shoulders. On her face was a pair of glasses with black frames, except the top part was thicker. Sonic then looked at Merhea, who was shorter than Sonic, wore blue overalls with a white short-sleeved shirt. Her brown hair with dirty blonde tips barely touched her shoulders. While holding a small white box with her right arm, she held on to Maria's right hand with her own left hand. To the old couple, Emilia simply wore a purple shirt, jacket and pants, while Thomas had a blue T-shirt with black slacks.

"This..." Elda began as it caught Sonic's attention, "...will be over soon."

"Huh?" Sonic had a confused look on his face.

"One this memory ends..." Elda looked at Sonic in the eye, "Be careful not to lose yourself on your way out."

"What are you..."

_**Ding!**_

Sonic was cut off while the elevator beeped as Maria and her family walked out. As Elda and Sonic walked out of the elevator as well, they saw Maria looking at the numbers screwed on to the doors.

"Room 257... 252..." Maria muttered to herself was she read them, "...249... ... ...237... ... ... 227... Here it is," she pointed at the said door with her left thumb. Afterwards, Thomas knocked.

"Come in," an adult male voice said. As Maria old relatives and Merhea walked in, Maria looked like she wanted to stay out.

"Aren't you coming in?" Emilia asked.

"..." Maria didn't say anything else as she walked in and saw Jamie sitting up on a hospital bed with Sonic and Elda close behind her. As for Jamie, he looked beat up as ever, he had black relaxer pants on, but he didn't have a shirt, thus revealing his torso covered with bandages. His right eye and ear was covered in bandage wraps like always, with most of it being hidden in his shoulder-length hair. He still had a few bruises, but everyone could tell that they'll heal on their own. The only things that stood out to Sonic was the white band-aid that was on Jamie's left cheek. Sitting next to his bed was a dark-skinned man and his wife.

"You must be Maria... right?" the said girl looked at the tall man (who was a few inches taller than his son), who wore a dark green long-sleeved shirt with black pants. He had slightly spiky black hair with cold brown eyes, a typical person of his kind aside from his gentle personality. Next to him was a shorter woman who was taller than Maria by a few inches, she was fairly plump as well with short black hair and warm brown eyes. She wore a magenta-pink long-sleeved shirt with light blue jeans.

"She is, Dad," Jamie said as he looked at the tall dark-skinned man.

"So those two are..." Sonic trailed off.

"Yes, they're Jamie's parents," Elda said, "James and Salleanna."

"How can we ever thank you for helping him?" Salleanna said, "We knew that Jamie was being bullied, but for it to go this far..."

"Um... She said something..." Jamie then turned to Maria, who gave out a cold stare in turn, "That the 'wound itself speaks'. What do you mean by that?"

"It's that cut on your face," Maria said as she crossed her arms, "It was still a bruise when I first saw it," Maria said somewhat coldly, which made the others, especially the Kudos, look uncomfortable, "But I can tell that there was a cut that was almost done healing. When I saw you again the next day, it was cut open," she narrowed her eyes, "It was cut by a ring. Only some _idiotic fool_ would do that to someone."

"And the other wounds that were on him?" Salleanna asked with an uncertain tone in her voice.

"When I grabbed his arm, he flinched in pain a little," Maria explained as she turned her head away before facing them again, "It's not the first time I've come across this, since I've come across plenty of people back in the south."

"Oh... I see," Jamie's mother stayed silent for a moment before asking Maria's old relatives, "Would it be all right if we could talk to her alone? I have many things to ask her."

"Sure thing," Thomas said, "Come on, Merhea, I'll get you something to eat."

"Okay, Uncle," Merhea nodded, "But first..." she then handed Jamie the somewhat forgotten box she was holding earlier, "Big Sis helped me make these, I hope you like them. Bye!"

Afterwards, she left with Emilia and Thomas to go somewhere else. Only the Kudos and Maria were alone, with Sonic and Elda watching them. Sonic couldn't help but observe them in curiosity, it's not everyday one would come across a family like Jamie's. He closely watched the boy open the small box, revealing a small stash of chocolate chip cookies.

"So..." James began while Jamie tried a cookie, "You're the new transfer student in Jamie's school, right?"

"Yes," Maria said, still with her arms crossed while keeping an eye on the now smiling Jamie.

"And you're the one who punched a dent into that girl's locker?" Salleanna asked.

"You got that right," Maria smirked a little, causing Jamie to laugh a little nervously.

"But why did you do that?" James asked.

"Kid here should know," Maria said as she pointed her left thumb at Jamie.

"...You did that to prevent a fight," Jamie somewhat guessed as he laughed nervously again.

"Ding, ding, ding!" she somewhat sang, "It would get _pretty_ _ugly_ if a fight were to start, so I decided to scare her off," she then scratched her head while looking at nothing in particular, "Though she _did_ look like a tough cookie, or was she soft tofu?"

"She's right about that," Sonic said to no one in particular with a wry smile, causing Elda to laugh a little in response. Sonic then laughed a little, "Seriously, though. Soft tofu?" Elda giggled again.

"All jokes aside," Maria sighed a little before she started muttering random things, "Kinda wish that I didn't punch that dent, though. I keep getting interrupted by annoying teams from the school like athletics and especially karate. I mean, what am I, a martial arts master or something? I don't do karate! And all those little brats that want to pick fights with me? Bah! Seriously, do I look _that_ young?"

"Maybe a little. Hahaha..." James laughed a little nervously, "Say, how old are you?"

"Eh, me?" Maria pointed to herself before having a thinking pose, "Well... I'm fourteen. My birthday's in January, so..."

"Huh. Well I'll be," Salleanna nodded a little, "You're six months older than my son, Jamie. He was born in August."

"Mom!" Jamie had an embarrassed look on his face before wincing in pain a little in his bed.

"It's fine," Maria shrugged, "I could care less about one's age, anyway," she then turned her body to Jamie while speaking in a somewhat Southern/Western accent, "And ya need to stop squirmin' around like an earthworm, ya'll open up your wounds."

"Playing with your voice, huh?" Jamie said with a wry smile.

"No," Maria said almost instantly with a scowl on her face.

While the humans were talking, Sonic suddenly felt drowsy as the world turned dark without Elda doing it, "Hnnnh... wha...?"

"Oh... looks like you won't be able to stay here much longer," Elda kneeled down to Sonic's height while placing her hands on his shoulders with a small smile on her face, "Sonic, don't lose yourself. Find Eggman and the last Chaos Emerald and Maria could be saved. Tell the others everything, okay?"

...

Sonic suddenly found himself in pitch black darkness again, but something didn't seem right... until he looked down.

"What...?" Sonic's eyes widened at the sight. For something like a dim blue beam of light that was already through his body, through his heart...

"_Sonic!_"

The hedgehog looked up and saw a silhouette of someone's. Judging from the shape and voice, it was probably either Maria or Elda's.

"Wha..."

"_Come on, Sonic_!" the shadow said as Sonic raised a brow a little.

"Maria? Or... Elda...?" he trailed before...

_"Sonic, come on!_" the shadow said with a serious tone as she extended her hand to him, "_You won't be able to go on like this!_"

"Buh...?" Sonic didn't say anything as he took her hand anyway, causing her to pull him away from the light that went through his heart with no pain. What was causing this?

"_You can do it, Sonic!_" she said, "_If it's taken, then at least restore her_ **heart!**"

...

"Her heart...?"

Sonic opened his eyes for real as he suddenly found himself lying on a familiar sofa, it was then he realized that he was inside Cream and Vanilla's house, and it was fairly dark. Seeing a digital clock nearby, he saw that it was 3:39 in the morning. Sonic couldn't remember the last time he saw a clock, but it was around early evening. He cursed to himself, was he really out for that long? Just when was about to sit up, a slow breathing sound was heard. Quickly moving his head to the direction of the sound, he found Maria lying against the floor in front of the sofa with Merhea lying her head against her sister's left arm with a pillow in between. Over the two girls were two large blankets that covered the two of them fairly snugly. Maria, who as somewhat curled up like a dog against a thick ragged quilt, let out a deep breath as she slept. She would move her head more than once, but it was not enough to make either her or Merhea wake.

_At least she still has the ability to sleep_. Sonic thought as he recalled sometime earlier. Raising a brow, he suddenly thought: _Wait... even though she can sleep... can she even _dream?

"Gurrrrrrh..." Maria let out a small growl as she let out another deep breath. It intimidated Sonic at first, but he calmed down afterwards when he realized that Maria was in fact dreaming about something.

"There's still hope for her," Sonic muttered with no sound, "I'll have to tell them everything before finding Eggman, but... will they believe me?"

Not wanting to stay laying in bed (or sofa) awake for the next four or five hours doing nothing, the blue hedgehog quietly sat up without making a sound. Taking care not to step on the blankets covering the Robotnik sisters, Sonic silently slipped out of the living room and eventually out of the house. Taking a deep breath, he made a run for his stress. Humming to himself a little, Sonic felt relieved for the first time in days, since basically for the past six days, he was full of nothing but stress in both physical and mental terms. Not to mention that he couldn't remember the last time he has ever slept peacefully, since for the past six days, the only time he "slept" was whenever he was unconscious, which has happened quite often in such a short period of time, especially to Maria.

Clearing his mind as he ran, he suddenly remembered something before stopping: What did that shadow mean by restoring Maria's heart? What about that strange beam? Trying to remember anything else, it suddenly hit him.

"..._Stabbed me here._.."

Of course! Sonic suddenly jolted up. Whatever it was, the thing that had shot through Maria's chest in the beginning must have affected her somehow! ...But then Sonic discovered a not so small loophole in his mental logic: What did the shadow mean by "it" being taken? What could "it" be? He then also remembered, if he has to at least "restore her heart," doesn't that mean... that Maria didn't have her heart to begin with when she came here?

"If that's the case..." Sonic muttered to himself, "How is it that I see into Maria's memories and yet she can't?..." he trailed off as he thought he realized something, "No wait, that can't be right..." Shaking his head, he continued to run around the city in an attempt to clear his mind. The only downside about this is: Which thoughts should he keep? Or discard? "There's gotta be a connection somehow..."

_**CRASH!**_

"Huh?" Sonic barely looked up as he saw a odd-looking flying ship that had crashed into the ground about fifty yards away. Alarmed, Sonic ran towards in hopes that the pilot or anyone else (if there is someone) had survived. Reaching it seconds later however, gave Sonic some shock, "Eggman?"

"HOO!" the large scientist instantly leapt to his feet as he brushed dirt off himself (along with the white scarf that he has on for some reason) before noticing Sonic, "Well, if it isn't that blasted rodent. How convenient!"

"All right," Sonic said with a bored look on his face while looking at the small ship, which was partially damaged before crashing, "What mecha did you bring with you this time? Kinda brittle if you ask me," he then turned back at the tall scientist, "And where were you all this time?"

"Such harsh words..." Eggman muttered to himself before speaking up, "That's not what I came here for," he said, "I was on my way towards you and your little pesky friends to tell you that I've completed an invention that'll be sure to stop those Golems!"

"How did...?" Sonic was about to ask before Eggman cut him off.

"I'll explain later, now get everyone else towards that fox boy's place. Bring the Chaos Emeralds too while you're at it."

...

"Whoa, seriously?" Tails' attention had turned towards the mad scientist, "Did you test it?"

"You bet I did!" Eggman said with a proud look on his face, "It only works on those that have weakened to a certain degree, but it'll easily wipe them out one by one."

Eggman held out a fairly large case with numerous darts containing a funny purple-black substance. Listening to him were Sonic and co., with Tails, Amy, and Knuckles. Shadow and Rouge had returned with Omega at Eggman's request to them (with Rouge telling Omega to not shoot the bloated scientist he so desperately hated). Merhea was also there, but she was tending to her sister. Maria on the other hand, didn't seem to show much interest. For Jamie Bon Kudo, he only stood by Maria's side, refusing to leave her in her current state. As for the Rabbits, they stayed behind while the Chaotix decided to protect them in case any Golems come by, much to Vector's delight.

"Wait, isn't that the poison that turns organic things to ash?" Sonic asked as everyone else.

"Yes," Eggman answered, "I was able to collect some poison, along with Maria's blood that was mixed in, and analyzed them. Apparently, even though her blood is resistant to the poison enough to the point that she can destroy it, she's not immune to it. Therefore, she could fall victim to the poison herself. In other words..." Eggman then had a serious look on his face, "If the Golem is too strong, then it will be able to resist this poison I've made for them. However, if they're weak enough, this'll finish them off. Now," he closed the case and set it aside, "Let's see how many Emeralds we've collected now, shall we?"

As Eggman held out the gray and yellow Emeralds (which were the ones he stole back from Sonic and the others a few days ago), Shadow held out the red one Maria had found back at the Icy cave. Sonic then held out the green and purple ones while Merhea held out the dark blue Emerald that she had found days ago. Taking a quick count...

"There's only six," Jamie noticed, as did the others.

"That's expected," Eggman said, "Because it's hidden within the Golem's Nest on that island not too far from my base."

"Golem Nest?" Jamie raised a brow as Maria snorted a little, "So the Golems are coming from there?"

"Most likely so," Eggman answered, "I've located a signature of a Chaos Emerald inside that Nest of theirs. If we get it, we might be able to get Sonic and Shadow to wipe them out in their Super forms, but... The downside is: I don't even know if it's a real Emerald."

"What do you mean?" Knuckles asked and Rouge seemed interested.

"There are numerous signatures that were present, but the one inside the Nest have been the strongest. Not to mention... those smaller signatures were gathering into one for the past four days."

"So all we have to do is go into the Nest, take those monsters out with the darts, get the last Chaos Emerald, and then get out. Am I right?" Amy asked.

"To put it simply, yes."

"That means we'll be able to save Big Sis, too, right?" Merhea asked.

"I think so," Sonic said. _At least, that's what _Elda_ said_... "So how do we get there?"

"Once I repair my ship," Eggman said as he pointed at the jungle within the Mystic Ruins, "I'll be able to take you guys there. Tails' little plane will also be a fair help."

Everyone became silent as they turned and heard Maria growl. The said crystallized human slowly got up as Merhea and Jamie moved out of the way in the process. To everyone's surprise...

"I... wilL... G-go... on... A...aHeAd..." deep breaths were heard from her slow and distorted voice, "YOU... sEt... t-tHinGs... UP..."

"Big Sis?" Merhea had a surprised but slightly happy look on her face, "You can talk?"

"It's... hArD... t-tO... t-t-talk..." Maria struggled as her fangs clicked a little, "iN... t-tHiS... f-FoRm... ...I... I..." her mouth showed signs of frustration, "...GaUh..."

"It's okay, Maria," Jamie said as assuringly as possible, "We'll change you back to normal soon enough, I promise."

"I... gO..." she growled as she suddenly dashed and disappeared into the wilderness.

"You heard her, everyone," Shadow suddenly spoke, "Let's get things set up and we'll meet up with her later."

...

_Why do I get the feeling that I won't survive...?_

_If I don't... then..._

_...Forgive me..._

_...Everyone... ...back... ...at... ...home..._

_...Don't... forget... them... ...I can't... forget..._

_...wait...._

_...who was... that small girl again...?_

...

**(End of the Twenty-Second Crystal)**

...

**Authoress' Notes:** Yes, Jamie's parents really are dark-skinned. Why? Because I made them that way, not to mention it makes Jamie a little more unique in my opinion. Just so you know, there is no racism intended in the creation of Jamie's family. If you feel offended by this, anyway, then I apologize.

Oh, looky... Eggman has finally reappeared! How long did it take him to recreate that poison? Take a guess.

**References:** There are no references in this Crystal.


End file.
